Chapter 15 - INFERNO OF TRUTHSHeadline: Flames Of Betrayal! James Risks His Life Inside The Burning Ruins!
The heat inside the restaurant was unbearable. Beams groaned and collapsed, sending showers of sparks raining down onto the charred floorboards. Smoke blinded James as he pulled his jacket over his nose and mouth, navigating through the memory-filled dining room toward the back booth where Chloe had slept on Christmas Eve.
Underneath the seat of that exact booth was a loose floorboard. James dropped to his knees, ignoring the blistering heat of the wood, and pried it open with a metal crowbar he brought from the car.
Inside lay an old, tarnished steel box sealed with a heavy combination lock.
"Looking for this, son?"
James spun around. Standing near the blazing kitchen doorway was a figure clad in a heavy winter coat, holding a cane. As the flames illuminated his face, James’s heart stopped.
It was Edward Sterling. Older, scarred across one side of his face, but unmistakably his father.
"Father..." James breathed, gasping for air amidst the thick smoke. "You ruined our lives. You used Grace, you used me, you let Richard rot in prison—all for what?"
"For power, James!" Edward laughed maniacally, the sound merging with the roar of the fire. "The world is run by those who control the shadow funds! Give me the box, and I will make you the sole ruler of Sterling Global!"
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"I don't want your empire!" James roared. He grabbed the box, charged forward, and tackled his father through the side emergency exit, tumbling out into the freezing snow outside just as the restaurant roof collapsed in a massive explosion.
Hook: Father and son face off in the snow as the flames roar—but who is holding the real trigger to the ultimate trap?
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