Chapter 16 - The Broken Condition
The mechanical coldness in Iris’s eyes fractured. A single tear escaped her left eye, cutting a track through the dirt on her cheek.
“M-Mommy… holds… the light?” Iris whispered, her voice cracking as memory fragments fought against five years of psychological conditioning.
“Nonsense!” Marco roared, pressing the silver device repeatedly. “Execute the target, girl! Strike!”
The high-frequency tone emitted from the device, causing Iris to clutch her head in agony, dropping the blade to the floor. She screamed, falling to her knees on the cold marble.
Dominic didn't miss the opening.
In a split second, he drew a small throwing knife from his boot and flung it across the chancel. The knife flew straight and true, shattering the silver device in Marco’s hand before he could press it again.
Before Marco could react, Clara moved like a ghost. She closed the distance in two strides, leaped onto the altar, and drove her boot into Marco’s chest, sending the old man flying backward into the stone wall.
She pinned him against the cold granite, pressing the muzzle of her suppressed pistol directly under his jawline.
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“You took four years of my life,” Clara whispered, her voice dripping with lethal venom. “You poisoned my body. And you turned my baby girl into a weapon. Give me one reason why I shouldn't blow your head off right now.”
Marco wheezed, blood trickling from his mouth, but he grinned through his broken teeth. “Because… if I die… the second ledger in Monte Carlo releases automatically. It contains the names of every corrupt official in Europe. Your empire will drown in federal investigations by sunrise.”
