Chapter 10 - Dawn and the Full EndingThe explosion tore through the lower levels, collapsing the grand staircase and burying half of Vance’s strike team under tons of burning timber and granite.
Vance, covered in soot, blood, and plaster, stumbled backward through the shattered front doors into the freezing mountain snow. His leg was mangled, his weapon lost in the wreckage.
He looked up. Standing in the doorway silhouetted by the roaring flames of his burning home was Vincent Crowe. The Wolf.
Vance reached frantically for his ankle holster, his fingers trembling. "You... you're a monster! You can't kill me! The syndicate will—"
Vincent didn't let him finish. He strode forward, grabbed Vance by the collar of his tactical vest, and lifted him effortlessly off the ground, pinning him against the icy stone pillar.
"The syndicate is dead," Vincent whispered, his gray eyes burning with the cold fire of a man who had stared into hell and refused to blink. "And you are out of time."
With a final, merciless shove, Vincent sent Vance tumbling down the steep, icy cliffside into the rocky abyss below.
Silence reclaimed the mountain, broken only by the crackle of dying flames and the crisp whistle of the wind.
Vincent stood there for a long moment, breathing heavily, before turning around and walking back into the lodge. He strode straight to the panic room, tapped the digital keypad, and entered the override code.
The heavy steel door swung open.
Leo was sitting on the floor inside, holding his stuffed bear tightly, tears streaking his dirty face. When he saw Vincent standing there, alive, with a gentle smile breaking through the soot and sweat on his face, he leaped up.
"Dad!"
Leo sprinted across the room and flung his arms around Vincent's neck, burying his face in his shoulder. Vincent wrapped his strong arms around the boy, lifting him high into the air as the first golden rays of dawn crested over the snow-covered peaks of the Cascade Mountains.
"Is it over?" Leo whispered, looking up at him with awe.
"It's over, son," Vincent said, kissing the top of the boy's head as a profound, unshakable peace settled deep into his soul. "We're safe. We're finally home."
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Back in the city, the empire of the Wolf would continue to stand, but its king had changed. He was no longer just a feared legend ruling from the shadows. He was a father, and he would burn the entire world to ash before anyone ever took his son away again.
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