Chapter 13 - The Tables Turn
Marcus froze, the color draining from his face as the cold steel barrel pressed lightly against the back of his neck. The digital timer in his hand slipped slightly, its red numbers ticking down relentlessly: 01:45... 01:44...
"You..." Marcus hissed, his eyes darting frantically toward Clara before shifting back to Lorenzo. "You planned this. You knew I was coming."
"I knew someone was leaking information to our competitors three months ago," Lorenzo said, his voice as cold as winter stone as he stepped slowly up the stairs toward his cousin. "Elena was sloppy, yes, but she wasn't ambitious enough to orchestrate a corporate coup on her own. It took a family member with access to the inner network to pull the strings. I simply left the door unlocked to see who would walk through it."
Elena stared at her husband in stunned disbelief, her mouth slightly open. "You... you knew about the leaks all along? You used me as bait?"
"I used every piece of leverage at my disposal to flush out the cancer eating away at this house," Lorenzo replied without looking back at her. He stopped two steps below Marcus, reaching out slowly to pluck the electronic override device and the digital timer straight from his cousin's paralyzed fingers.
Marcus let out a ragged breath, his arrogant facade completely shattered, leaving behind a desperate, cornered man. "You can't do this, Lorenzo! If you hand me over to federal authorities, I’ll take down half your subsidiary accounts with me. You'll lose everything!"
"Let the accounts burn," Lorenzo whispered fiercely. He pressed a button on the override device, instantly resetting the security system and restoring full control of the estate’s network. The red numbers on the timer locked, freezing at 00:42. "I can always rebuild an empire. But a traitor in my own bloodline? That gets excised permanently."
Lorenzo stepped past Marcus, reached into his suit jacket, and pulled out his satellite phone. He dialed a three-digit emergency code with his thumb, pressing the device to his ear.
"This is Lorenzo Vance. Secure the Berkshire hunting lodge immediately. Extract the hostage and place local security forces around the perimeter. Anyone resisting arrest is to be detained with maximum prejudice."
Marcus lunged forward in a desperate, suicidal attempt to grab the gun from Lorenzo’s holster, but Clara reacted with lightning speed. The stock of the hunting shotgun connected with the side of Marcus’s jaw with a sickening crunch. Marcus spun sideways, tumbling down the flight of polished marble stairs before crashing hard onto the foyer floor below, where he lay completely motionless.
Elena flinched at the sound, covering her ears as she stared down at the fallen man. The grand foyer was dead silent once more, save for the heavy, ragged breathing of the people standing upon its blood-stained marble.
Lorenzo snapped his phone shut and looked down at his wife, his dark eyes holding a terrifying, unreadable depth.
May you like
"Now, Elena," Lorenzo said quietly, stepping down the stairs toward her. "Let’s talk about your sister."
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