Chapter 13 - DARKNESS AND DIAMONDS
Screams of terror filled the dark boardroom.
Chairs overturned as multi-millionaires scrambled across the floor in complete blind panic.
THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!
Suppressed gunshots cut through the darkness, punctuated by the bright white flashes of muzzle fire.
"Sofia! Go left!" Elena’s voice commanded calmly through the chaos.
"On it!" Sofia called out from the dark.
Sofia didn't panic anymore.
Her months of high-society etiquette classes were useless, but the tactical training Elena had beaten into her over the last hour had taken over.
She activated her night-vision goggles.
The dark room suddenly turned into a bright green landscape.
She saw Arthur Sterling crawling under the mahogany table, trying to reach the private exit door behind the bar.
Sofia walked over slowly, her heavy boots stepping on shattered champagne glasses.
She kicked the mahogany table leg with all her force.
CRACK!
The thick wood split, dropping the heavy table edge directly onto Arthur’s leg.
"AAGHH!" Arthur shrieked, pinned under the weight of the table.
"My leg! My leg is broken!"
Sofia stood over him, looking down through her green-tinted goggles.
She raised her boots and stepped heavily onto his crushed knee.
"AGGGHHHH! SOFIA! PLEASE! IT'S YOUR FATHER!" Arthur screamed, tears and sweat pouring down his face.
"You burned my dress, Daddy," Sofia whispered in his ear.
"And you threw me in a sewer."
On the other side of the room, Elena was moving like a ghost through the blacked-out suite.
She didn't need night vision.
She tracked Marcus by the sound of his heavy breathing and the rustle of his expensive suit.
Marcus was retreating toward the private balcony overlooking the storm-swept city.
Elena followed him out onto the rain-slick terrace.
Lightning flashed across the dark sky, illuminating the two siblings fifty floors above the street.
The wind whipped Elena’s dark hair across her face.
Marcus was standing near the stone balustrade, holding the black detonator in his left hand.
His right hand held a long silver combat knife.
"You can't shoot me in this rain, Elena!" Marcus shouted over the roar of the wind and thunder.
"The wind will throw off your aim!"
"Come fight me like a real Vance!"
Elena threw her pistol over the balcony ledge.
It dropped into the abyss below.
"Fair enough, brother," Elena said, reaching behind her back.
May you like
She unsheathed a sleek, black titanium combat blade.
"Let's settle the bloodline."
