Chapter 18 - The Final Stand
Chaos erupted in a fraction of a second.
Victor’s mercenaries panicked, raising their weapons, but tactical officers overwhelmed them in a coordinated sweep, pinning them to the concrete floor within seconds.
Victor spun around, realizing he was trapped from all sides, his eyes darting frantically toward the open loading dock at the rear of the warehouse. He bolted toward the exit, desperately trying to reach a waiting speedboat docked in the murky bay water just outside.
“Stop right there!” Marcus shouted, sprinting after him through the smoke and flashing red lights.
Victor vaulted over a stack of wooden pallets, leaping toward the wooden pier. But as his boots hit the slick, wet wood, his foot slipped. He tumbled hard against the edge of the pier, his pistol flying out of his hand and splashing into the dark, churning water below.
Before Victor could scramble back to his feet, Marcus pinned him against the wooden railing, snapping heavy steel handcuffs onto his wrists with practiced efficiency.
Back inside the warehouse, paramedics rushed over to where David and I lay on the concrete.
David groaned, pressing a hand to his bruised ribs as a medic handed him an ice pack. He looked over at me with an exhausted, relieved smile.
“You… you actually called the cavalry, didn't you?” David breathed.
“I told you,” I said, wiping a streak of dust and blood from my forehead as I smiled back. “Nobody hurts my family and gets away with it.”
As Victor Thorne was dragged past us in handcuffs, his face bruised and his designer suit soaked and ruined, he glared at me with pure, unadulterated venom.
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“You think locking me up changes anything, Nora?” Victor spat out as officers pushed him toward a cruiser. “The Vance bloodline is cursed. You’ll never truly be free.”
“I’m already free,” I replied calmly, turning my back on him for the very last time.
