Chapter 4 - The Sound of VengeanceThe bullet didn't hit Julian.
It didn't hit Vance either.
Right as Vance’s finger compressed the trigger, a small, heavy brass candlestick flew through the air with astonishing velocity, slamming directly into Vance's wrist. The gun discharged wildly, the bullet shattering the glass balcony door and sending a shower of crystal shards across the floor.
Vance gasped in pain, his hand dropping as the pistol clattered away.
From the hallway doorway, a small figure stood frozen.
Eva.
Her chest was heaving. Her small hands were trembling. Her eyes, wide and terrified, were fixed entirely on Vance.
She had thrown the heavy brass candlestick. She had intervened.
“Stop!”
A second word tore from her throat, raw and sharp, cutting through the silence of the room like a blade.
Vance stared at the little girl, momentarily stunned. "You..."
That split-second distraction was all Julian needed.
Moving with animalistic fury, Julian crossed the room in three massive strides. He didn't use his gun. He used his bare hands. He slammed his fist into Vance’s jaw with bone-crushing force, sending the traitor crashing against the antique dresser.
Vance groaned, spitting blood, but before he could recover, Julian grabbed him by the collar, hauled him up, and slammed him face-first into the wall.
"You touch my daughter," Julian whispered, his voice vibrating with homicidal rage, "and I will make sure death is a luxury you spend the rest of eternity begging for."
Vance laughed weakly, blood dripping from his lip. "You think... you think killing me stops it, Julian? Look outside."
Julian frowned, dragging Vance toward the window.
May you like
Down below, the wrought-iron gates of the estate were no longer standing. They had been blown off their hinges in a cloud of thick, billowing smoke. Headlights cut through the dark—dozens of armed SUVs, marked with the insignia of the city's rival syndicate, pouring onto the pristine lawns like a swarm of locusts.
The war had arrived. And Vance was only the opening act.
