Chapter 14: The Weight of Mercy
The strain tore through Julian’s shoulders. Vincent dangled in the freezing air, the hundred-foot drop yawning beneath his boots, the violent sea surging against the rocks below.
"Hold on!" Julian roared, his knuckles turning white as he anchored his feet against an outcropping of granite. "Vincent, grab my other arm! Take my hand!"
Vincent looked up at his younger brother. He saw the genuine agony in Julian's eyes—not hatred, not vengeance, but a desperate, unyielding determination to save the very man who had tried to murder him.
"Why?" Vincent sobbed, the wind tearing the tears from his cheeks. "Why would you save me after everything I did to you?"
"Because if I let you fall," Julian gasped, his muscles tearing under the immense weight, "I become what you are. And I won't let you take my soul too. Grab my arm!"
Tactical officers rappelled down from the hovering helicopters, hitting the ground in rapid succession. Two officers sprinted to the edge, grabbing Julian by his jacket and securing Vincent’s arms with heavy-duty rescue straps.
Together, with a unified heave, they dragged both brothers back onto solid ground.
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Vincent collapsed onto the wet grass, retching and sobbing into the dirt as cold steel handcuffs were ratcheted around his wrists. Julian lay on his back, staring up into the night sky, his chest heaving as the rain began to fall in heavy, cleansing sheets.
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