Chapter 7 - The Choice
Lily’s breath hitched in her throat. She had never touched a gun in her life; to her, firearms were heavy, frightening instruments locked away inside her father's study safe. But the mercenary on the floor was already rolling onto his elbow, his eyes locking onto Marcus’s exposed back.
"Lily, kick it!" Marcus roared, his hands locked around the throat of the second operative as they thrashed against the metal electrical conduits on the wall.
Lily didn't hesitate. Gathering every ounce of strength in her small frame, she soccer-kicked the heavy steel handgun across the polished concrete floor. It slid smoothly under Marcus's foot, out of reach of the crawling mercenary. But Lily didn't stop there. Grabbing a heavy brass fire extinguisher mounted to the wall, she released the latch and let the twenty-pound metal cylinder crash down directly onto the reaching arm of the crawling guard.
The man screamed in pain as his wrist bones splintered under the weight.
Marcus delivered a brutal headbutt to the second operative, dazing him, before following up with a swift knee strike to his midsection that collapsed the man entirely. Marcus scooped up his weapon, checked the magazine with cold efficiency, and grabbed Lily's wrist. "Good girl. Fast thinking."
They ducked into the service elevator. Marcus slammed the emergency descent key, bypassing every intermediate floor. The elevator plummeted toward the deep sub-basement.
"Daddy, Clara said your partners did this," Lily said, her voice shaking as she stared at the drying blood on his sleeve. "Is it Uncle Vance? Uncle Arthur?"
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Marcus's jaw tightened until the muscles bulged against his skin. Arthur Vance wasn't just his business partner—he was his elder brother. The realization carved deeper lines into Marcus's face than any blade could. "We're going to find out, Lily. But first, we leave the city."
The elevator shuddered violently. A loud screech of metal echoed from the cable shaft above. The descending cab ground to an abrupt, violent halt, throwing both of them to the floor as the lights died completely.
