Chapter 7 - THE FALL OF THE DYNASTY
The crimson laser dots danced across Arthur Vance’s chest like a constellation of death.
For three agonizing seconds, the only sound on the roof was the pounding rain and the deafening whip of the helicopter blades. The mercenaries hired by Vance instantly realized the game was over. They slowly raised their hands, dropping their suppressed carbines onto the wet tarmac with dull clatters.
“Stand down!” the pilot killed the helicopter engines, the massive blades slowing to a whirring halt.
“You coward!” Serena shrieked, spinning around toward Victor. “You set us up!”
Arthur Vance’s aristocratic composure completely shattered. His eyes were wide, bloodshot, and wild with desperate madness. He looked at the laser dots on his chest, then down at his silver revolver.
“I won’t go to prison,” Vance snarled, cocking the hammer and snapping the barrel down toward baby Ethan’s carrier. “If I burn, your bloodline burns with me!”
“NO!” Lily screamed.
With every ounce of strength left in her battered body, Lily threw herself across Ethan’s carrier, using her own torso as a human shield.
BANG.
The gunshot cracked through the storm.
Victor moved with ferocious speed. Before Vance could pull the trigger a second time, a high-caliber sniper round from the rooftop perimeter tore through the Senator’s right shoulder, sending the silver revolver spinning across the wet concrete into the darkness.
Victor lunged forward, closing the distance in two massive strides. He slammed Senator Vance into the side of the helicopter fuselage, his massive hand wrapping around the older man’s throat with bone-crushing force.
“You touched my family for the last time,” Victor growled, his voice vibrating with absolute fury.
Arthur Vance gagged, his face turning purple, his hands clawing uselessly at Victor’s iron grip.
“Victor! Don’t kill him!” a voice cried out.
Victor turned his head.
Lily was sitting on the wet roof, holding Ethan tightly in her arms. The baby was crying loudly—alive, unharmed, and terrified. Lily was clutching her left upper arm, where the bullet had grazed her flesh, staining her soaked cardigan with crimson.
“Don’t become a murderer for him, Victor,” Lily pleaded, her voice trembling through the rain. “Ethan needs his father. Let the law destroy them.”
Victor looked down at the pathetic, choking politician in his grip. Slowly, with utter disgust, Victor released his hold and threw Arthur Vance onto the wet concrete at the feet of the arriving federal agents.
Marcus and a dozen tactical officers swarmed the roof, forcing Serena and her father face-down onto the gravel, snapping heavy steel zip-ties around their wrists.
“Victor Blackwood! You will pay for this!” Serena screamed, her face pressed against the cold wet stone, her makeup running in black streaks down her cheeks. “I’m a Vance! You hear me?! I’m a Vance!”
“Not anymore,” Victor said coldly, not even looking back at her.
He rushed over to Lily, dropping to his knees in the puddles. He pulled off his heavy wool overcoat and wrapped it securely around Lily and Ethan, shielding them both from the biting wind.
“Let me see your arm,” Victor said, his hands surprisingly gentle as he inspected the graze.
“It’s just a scratch,” Lily whispered, leaning her head against his broad shoulder, completely exhausted. “Ethan is okay, Victor. He’s safe.”
Victor looked at the young woman who had thrown herself in front of a bullet for his son. He wrapped his strong arms around both of them, pulling them tightly against his chest as the storm raged around them.
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“Thank you, Lily,” Victor whispered into her wet hair, his voice cracking with emotion he hadn’t shown in years. “You saved my world tonight.”
Behind them, the federal agents dragged Serena and Arthur Vance toward the elevator doors, their screams of rage swallowed whole by the wailing sirens filling the city below.
