Chapter 10: The Storm Within**
The storm outside howled, rattling the wooden beams of the boat house as the tide rose beneath the floorboards.
"You think killing us here will save you?" Elena said, stepping out from behind Eleanor, her voice steady and commanding. "Marcus Reed knows we are here. The moment we don't return, federal authorities receive copies of everything in this box."
Richard’s eyes flickered with a brief hesitation, but Julian sneered. "She's bluffing, Dad. She’s an ex-waitress who spent her life pouring coffee. She doesn't have the stomach for this."
Julian raised the gun, aiming directly at Elena’s chest.
In that split second, the decades of hard manual labor, fast reflexes, and sheer survival instinct kicked in. Elena didn't cower. She seized a heavy iron boat hook resting against the wall and swung it with all her strength against Julian’s arm.
*Crack!*
The gun discharged, the bullet shattering a glass lantern above them. Julian cried out in pain as the weapon flew from his grip, skidding across the wet wooden deck toward the edge of the water.
Richard lunged forward to grab the waterproof case, but Eleanor threw herself at him with the primal rage of a mother defending her child, tackling him against the wooden railing.
"Run, Clara!" Eleanor screamed.
May you like
"I’m not leaving you!" Elena shouted back, diving across the slippery floor to secure the evidence box and reach for the fallen gun.
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