Chapter 5: The Narrow Escape
The piercing siren broke Marcus’s concentration for a split second. Seizing the opening, Derek lunged forward, slamming a heavy brass desk lamp into Marcus’s wrist.
The gun fired harmlessly into the ceiling plaster with a deafening crack. Marcus roared in pain, dropping the weapon and tackling Derek onto the hardwood floor. They grappled in the dark, smashing against antique chairs and sending paper flying like a flurry of snow.
Marcus was heavier, driven by primal rage, but Derek was fueled by the memory of his father gasping inside that satin-lined coffin. Derek drove his elbow upward into Marcus’s chin, rolling free and grabbing the fallen handgun.
He didn't point it to shoot. Instead, Derek kicked the study’s French doors wide open, sprinting out onto the rain-drenched patio into the darkness of the surrounding woods.
Behind him, Marcus’s furious voice echoed through the downpour: “You can’t hide forever, Derek! The board votes at noon tomorrow! You won't make it to the downtown office alive!”
Derek didn’t look back. Mud splattered against his trousers as he navigated the dense tree line toward the old service road where he had hidden his pickup truck.
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He climbed inside, drenched and bruised, his trembling hands gripping the steering wheel. He pulled the cassette out of his pocket and popped it into the vintage player. Arthur’s recorded voice filled the cabin.
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