Chapter 7 - TWIST OF FATE
Victoria slammed into Julian, forcing his arm upward just as he fired. The gunshot shattered the light fixture above, plunging the room into chaotic, flickering shadows.
Eleanor grabbed a heavy metal desk lamp and struck Arthur across the face, sending the old man crashing against the bulkhead.
Julian threw Victoria to the deck, his eyes wild with rage. He aimed the weapon directly at her chest. “You ruined everything!”
BANG!
A shot rang out. But it wasn't Julian’s gun.
Julian’s eyes widened in shock. He dropped his pistol, reaching for his shoulder as blood stained his designer suit. He turned around in disbelief.
Standing in the doorway was Marcus Vance—his arm bleeding from Leo’s bite, holding a smoking handgun.
“Marcus?” Arthur gasped, pulling himself up from the floor. “What are you doing?!”
“You promised me protection, Father,” Marcus said, his voice trembling. “But I just checked the offshore accounts. You wrote my name out of the trust two days ago. You were going to frame me for the asylum's illegal operations!”
Marcus turned his weapon toward Arthur. “None of us are getting out of this.”
Federal agents burst into the hallway, tactical rifles raised. “DROP YOUR WEAPONS! ON THE GROUND NOW!”
Chaos erupted. Marcus dropped to his knees, throwing his hands in the air. Julian collapsed from his wound, sobbing in fear as agents tackled him to the deck. Arthur was thrown against the wall and handcuffed in seconds.
Victoria pulled Eleanor out of the room, escorting her safely past the armed guards onto the main deck.
As they stepped out into the night air, Leo ran across the pier, ducking under police tape, shouting at the top of his lungs:
“MOM!”
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Eleanor fell to her knees on the wet deck, folding Leo into her arms, weeping uncontrollably as the rain fell around them. Victoria stood over them, wrapped in a tactical blanket, watching the police drag Julian, Arthur, and Marcus away in heavy chains.
The nightmare was finally over. Or so she thought.
