Chapter 13 - The Catwalk Confrontation
Daniel froze mid-step on the metal catwalk. The harsh wind rattled the corrugated steel walls of the warehouse, but inside the glass-enclosed office, the silence was absolute. Victoria slowly turned her chair around, her white silk dress catching the blue light of the monitors. She wasn't shaking; her expression was calm, almost serene, with a chilling smile playing on her lips.
"Did you really think a few old legal documents and a dramatic police standoff at the mansion would stop me?" Victoria asked smoothly, resting her hands casually on the armrests of her chair.
"It's over, Victoria," Daniel said, stepping past the doorway and entering the office, keeping his voice low and steady. Elena followed right behind him, her eyes scanning the room for any hidden threats. "The federal freeze is already processing. Your offshore accounts are locked."
Victoria let out a soft, melodic laugh that sounded entirely out of place in the derelict warehouse. "Locked? Daniel, honey, you really don't understand how the world works, do you. By the time your precious federal task force verifies the jurisdiction, those funds will have bounced through three different cryptocurrency mixers. They’ll vanish into thin air."
She reached down beside her chair and clicked a button on the desktop console. A loud, rhythmic beep echoed through the room as a progress bar on the main monitor hit ninety-nine percent.
"Don't do it," Daniel warned, taking a sharp step forward.
"Stay back!" Victoria snapped, her voice suddenly dropping its sweet facade, turning sharp and venomous. She reached into her designer handbag resting on the desk and pulled out a small, snub-nosed revolver, pointing it directly at Daniel's chest.
Elena gasped, taking an instinctive step in front of Daniel. "Put the gun down, Victoria. You've already killed once. You’re not walking away from this."
Victoria’s eyes flashed with pure hatred as she looked at Elena. "I did what I had to do to survive, just like I'm going to do right now. That old man was senile, and he was going to ruin everything I built. And you—" she sneered, shifting the barrel slightly toward Elena—"you just couldn't stay in your lane, could you?"
"You're cornered, Victoria," Daniel said, his voice deadpan and terrifyingly calm. He began taking slow, deliberate steps toward the desk, ignoring the firearm aimed at his heart. "The warehouse is surrounded by federal agents. The moment you hit enter on that final transfer, the tactical team breaches the doors."
Victoria’s eyes darted nervously toward the warehouse windows below for a fraction of a second—a tiny crack in her armor.
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It was all the opening Daniel needed. With a sudden burst of speed, he lunged across the desk, slamming his weight down onto Victoria’s arm just as her finger tightened on the trigger.
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