Chapter 14 - A Mother's Defiance
“Mommy!” Lily shrieked, her little shoes dangling over the black abyss of rushing water.
Sarah stopped dead in her tracks, every nerve in her body screaming. She raised both hands in the air, revealing empty palms while keeping the concealed revolver tucked tightly in her waistband.
“Don't do this, Arthur,” Sarah pleaded, modulating her voice to project absolute calm despite the terror tearing at her heart. “You wanted the money. The trust is sealed. With Lily gone, the entire estate defaults to the state. You walk away with nothing—not a single dime.”
Arthur hesitated, his grip tightening around Lily’s sweater. His calculating greed clashed violently with his spiraling madness. “I’d rather see the money burn than let you raise her.”
“Look at her, Arthur,” Sarah urged, stepping forward inch by inch. “Look at her face. She has your chin. She has your stubborn eyes. You know whose blood runs in her veins. You really want your only legacy to drown in the dark?”
Arthur’s gaze flicked down toward Lily’s terrified hazel eyes. For a fraction of a second, the monstrous arrogance in his expression fractured into human uncertainty.
That single heartbeat was all Sarah needed.
From the shadow of the access ladder behind Arthur, Marcus fired a precision flashbang canister onto the catwalk floor.
A blinding burst of white light and a deafening sonic crack shattered the storm. Arthur staggered backward, disoriented, his grip slipping from Lily’s jacket.
Lily began to fall.
Sarah lunged forward across the slick metal grating, throwing her entire body over the railing. Her fingers caught the collar of Lily’s sweater just as the girl slipped completely into open air.
With a roar of agony from her bruised ribs, Sarah locked both hands around her daughter’s wrists, hauling Lily upward against her chest.
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Recovering from the blast, Arthur lunged toward them with an iron pipe raised to strike. Sarah pulled the revolver from her cardigan and leveled it straight between his eyes.
“Don't,” Sarah commanded, her finger tightening on the trigger.
