Chapter 5 - THE BLOODLINE DISCORDThe rain fell in heavy, relentless sheets, splashing against the cold concrete of the alley. Sofia stood frozen in the doorway, staring at the face of the brother she had mourned for a decade.
"Julian...?" Sofia’s voice was barely a whisper, swallowed by the sound of the downpour. "You're... you're alive?"
Julian Vance looked completely different from the pictures that sat in silver frames in my bedroom. The soft-spoken teenager who loved painting and playing the piano was gone. Standing in front of us was a cold, calculating man of thirty, his eyes dead and unblinking behind wire-rimmed glasses.
He didn't lower the gun. The red laser dot from his suppressor rested steadily right between Sofia’s eyes.
"I was alive enough to watch Father give you everything while he left me to rot in the Vance corporate training camps," Julian said, his tone shockingly casual. "Ten years, Sofia. Ten years of surviving assassination attempts in Eastern Europe while you went to college, got a degree, and complained about your little apartment."
"Julian, drop the weapon!" Alexander roared, stepping out into the open rain, placing his body directly between Julian’s gun and Sofia. "This was between me and Harrison! Your sister had nothing to do with this!"
Julian chuckled, a dry, hollow sound that cut through the thunder. "Always protecting her, aren't you, Dad? You staged my 'death' to hide me from Harrison’s assassins, but you never came back for me. You built a nice, quiet life for your precious daughter, gave her a $1.8 million condo, gave her the keys to the empire... and left me in the dark."
"I did it to keep you alive!" Alexander yelled back, rain soaking his hair, washing the blood from his scalp down his face. "If Harrison knew you survived that crash, he would have killed you!"
"So instead, I killed his operations from the inside," Julian replied coldly. "I became 'The Architect.' I was the one who funded Carmen’s pathetic little real estate company. I was the one who orchestrated Javier’s marriage to Sofia."
Sofia felt a wave of nausea hit her so hard she had to grab the doorframe to keep from falling.
"You..." Sofia choked out, looking at her brother in absolute horror. "You arranged my marriage? You gave me to those monsters?"
Julian finally glanced down at Javier, who was bleeding on the wet pavement, whimpering like a wounded dog.
"Javier was an idiot," Julian said contemptuously. "A greedy, spineless pawn. I told his mother to secure the condo so I could burn it and retrieve the drive inside the safe without setting off federal alerts. But the fool couldn't even manage a simple intimidation without letting her son get weak."
Javier looked up from the mud, clutching his bleeding shoulder, his eyes wide with betrayal. "Julian... you promised us immunity! You said we would get half the assets!"
Julian didn't even look at him. He simply shifted his wrist and fired two quick shots into Javier’s chest.
Pfft. Pfft.
The quiet coughs of the suppressed pistol cut through the air. Javier gasped, his body stiffening once before collapsing face-down into a puddle of bloody rainwater. He didn't move again.
Sofia screamed, covering her mouth in sheer horror. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her back into the lobby shadow, my heart hammering violently against my ribs.
Carmen, who was being led out of the building in handcuffs by two federal marshals, saw her son’s lifeless body on the pavement.
"JAVIER!" Carmen shrieked, a blood-curdling sound of total agony. She broke free from the guard’s grip and threw herself onto the wet ground, grabbing her dead son’s soaked jacket. "NO! NO! MY BABY! JAVIER!"
Julian didn't flinch. He bent down, picked up the silver locket from the rain gutter, and slid it into his pocket.
"The drive is mine now, Dad," Julian said, looking back at Alexander. "The entire Vance Global network will be recoded by morning. You're officially an relic of the past."
"Julian, listen to me!" Alexander pleaded, taking a step forward, his hands raised in surrender. "That drive isn't just financial data! It contains the automated defense override codes! If you launch that network, it will trigger an international strike protocol!"
Julian smiled—a cold, terrifying smile that matched Harrison’s.
"I know," Julian whispered. "Why do you think I bought the defense contractors last week?"
Julian turned and began to step back toward the open door of his armored SUV.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a loud voice boomed through a loudspeaker.
Two tactical armored vehicles slammed into the mouth of the alley, blocking Julian’s exit! Federal agents leaped out, weapons raised, floodlights illuminating the entire street in blinding white light.
"DROP YOUR WEAPON! YOU ARE SURROUNDED!"
Julian didn't look panicked. He looked at his watch, then raised his eyes to Alexander.
"You brought the government, Dad," Julian said softly. "So I brought the red button."
May you like
Julian pressed a button on a small black detonator in his hand.
HOOOK / CLIFFHANGER: A deafening roar echoed from beneath the city streets! The manhole covers in the alley blew sky-high in geysers of blue flame! The pavement beneath Alexander and Sofia began to collapse into a massive underground gas explosion! As the ground gave way, Julian stepped into his SUV, but a bloody hand suddenly reached out from the burning rubble and grabbed Julian by the ankle!
