Chapter 8 - THE REVERSAL
I pushed Sophie behind me, shielding her body with my own.
"You won't get away with this," I said, my voice remarkably steady despite the terror threatening to crush my lungs. "Gabriel knows everything. He found Elena’s confession. He knows you poisoned her."
Isabella laughed. It was a hollow, manic sound. "Elena was weak. She didn't deserve Gabriel, and she certainly didn't deserve this empire. I took what was rightfully mine."
She stepped closer, the gun unwavering. "Now, hand over the girl. My flight leaves in an hour, and she's my insurance policy."
"No," I said.
Isabella cocked the gun. "I wasn't asking."
Suddenly, the lights in the entire academy flickered and died. We were plunged into absolute pitch blackness.
Isabella shrieked. "What is this?! Turn the lights on!"
Through the darkness, a heavy, rhythmic sound echoed down the hallway.
Footsteps. Slow, deliberate, and terrifyingly calm.
"You always were too loud, Isabella," a voice rumbled from the dark.
Gabriel.
The emergency backup lights flickered on, casting a dim, red glow across the office.
Gabriel stood in the doorway. He wasn't alone. Half a dozen heavily armed men flanked him, their weapons trained squarely on Isabella.
Isabella’s hand shook, the gun wavering between me and Gabriel. "How did you find us? You went to the airstrip!"
"I own the airstrip," Gabriel said coldly. "And I own the tracking device in Daniel's encrypted radio."
He walked slowly into the room, ignoring the gun pointed at him.
"It's over, Isabella. The police have raided your family's nursing home. Your brother is in custody. The offshore accounts you tried to funnel Elena’s money into have been frozen."
Isabella lowered the gun, her bravado shattering into pathetic, sobbing panic. "Gabriel, please. I did it for us! I did it because I love you!"
"You don't know what love is," he said softly.
He didn't yell. He didn't have to. Two of his men stepped forward, brutally disarming Isabella and wrestling her to the floor. She screamed and thrashed as they zip-tied her wrists, dragging her out into the hallway.
Gabriel didn't watch her go. He immediately dropped to his knees, checking on Daniel, who was already sitting up, grimacing. "It's a through-and-through, Boss. I'm good."
Gabriel turned to us.
He pulled me and Sophie into a crushing embrace. I buried my face in his shoulder, the adrenaline finally crashing out of my system, leaving me sobbing against his chest.
"You're safe," Gabriel whispered into my hair. "I've got you. Both of you."
Sophie pulled back slightly. She reached up and touched her father's face.
Is the bad lady gone? she signed.
Gabriel smiled, a genuine, heartbreakingly gentle smile.
Gone forever, he signed back.
May you like
He stood up, keeping one arm securely around Sophie. He looked at me, his dark eyes filled with an emotion I had never seen in him before.
"Hannah. Come with us. Let's go home."
