Chapter 20 - The Final Trigger
Lily spun around, keeping her body defensively positioned in front of the dying Claire.
Daniel was standing by his mahogany desk. In his right hand was a compact, blued-steel automatic pistol, pointed directly at the floor between them. His eyes were wide, bloodshot, and wild with the cornered desperation of a man who realized his entire kingdom was turning to ash.
"Daniel, put that down!" Beth shrieked, backing away toward the bookshelf. "Are you out of your mind?!"
"No one leaves this room," Daniel said, his voice flat, dangerously quiet. "No one publishes anything. No one goes to the press."
"You’re going to shoot us, Dad?" Lily challenged, her voice trembling with disgust as she stepped forward, refusing to cower. "You’re going to shoot your daughter and your wife to keep your dirty little secret?"
"You don't understand what Victor Vance will do if this comes out!" Daniel shouted, his hand trembling on the grip. "He isn't dead, Lily! Victor has been waiting in the shadows for Claire to pass! The moment she dies, the immunity agreement dissolves! He will come for every penny, every brick of this house, and he will drag you into court as an accessory to fraud!"
"Victor Vance doesn't have to come for you, Daniel," a deep, chilling voice echoed from the shadowed hallway outside the parlor doors.
Everyone froze.
From the darkness of the corridor stepped a tall, elderly man leaning on an ivory-handled walking stick. He wore an immaculate charcoal tailored suit, a silver pocket watch chain draped across his vest, and cold, reptilian gray eyes that surveyed the room with pure, predatory amusement.
Behind him were two broad-shouldered men in raincoats, both holding silenced handguns at their sides.
Claire gasped, her grip tightening on Lily’s arm until her knuckles went white. "Father..."
Victor Vance smiled—a thin, cruel smirk that sent a wave of icy terror down Daniel’s spine. Daniel’s pistol began to shake violently in his hand.
"Good evening, Daniel," Victor said smoothly, stepping into the warm glow of the chandelier. "You always were an amateur at playing the villain. You thought I was waiting for Claire to die? No, my dear former son-in-law. I was waiting for you to pull a weapon on my granddaughter."
Victor tapped his cane against the hardwood floor.
"Lower the gun, Daniel," Victor commanded softly, "or the men behind me will paint these walls with you before your finger even twitches."
Daniel didn't lower the weapon. He swallowed hard, his eyes darting frantically between Victor, Claire, and Lily. His finger tightened against the cold steel of the trigger.
May you like
"If I'm going down, Victor," Daniel whispered through gritted teeth, "I'm taking your bloodline with me."
A deafening gunshot shattered the silence of the room. The chandelier swung violently from the concussion, smoke billowing into the parlor, and a body crashed heavily onto the marble floor.
