Chapter 18 - The Shot in the Dark.
The gunshot exploded through the room.
Elena dropped behind a heavy sofa before she knew who had been hit.
Vanessa fell beside her.
Dr. Pierce shouted.
Wood splintered near the window.
The bullet had struck the frame.
Nobody had been shot.
Not yet.
Outside, Detective Ruiz shouted commands through the storm.
The tactical team moved.
Daniel cursed in the darkness.
Caleb's footsteps crossed the room quickly.
Then something heavy crashed against the floor.
Elena pressed one hand against her stomach.
The baby moved.
A sharp, living kick.
Relief nearly made her cry.
Vanessa whispered beside her.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes."
"You?"
"I think so."
Another struggle sounded near the fireplace.
Pierce shouted again.
"Daniel, stop!"
A flashlight beam appeared outside the window.
Then another.
Daniel fired toward the glass.
The second shot shattered a lamp instead.
Ruiz's voice boomed from outside.
"Daniel Howard! Put the weapon down!"
Daniel laughed somewhere in the dark.
"Which weapon?"
Elena realized the gun was no longer necessarily with Caleb.
A third person moved near the hallway.
Pierce.
His ropes had been cut or broken.
Vanessa touched Elena's arm.
"There's a back door through the kitchen."
Elena shook her head.
"Daniel knows that too."
"Then what?"
Elena looked toward the faint glow of the fireplace embers.
"We make him believe we left."
She picked up a decorative throw pillow and tossed it toward the kitchen doorway.
The movement triggered exactly what she expected.
Daniel fired toward the sound.
The muzzle flash revealed him for half a second.
He stood near the stairs with Caleb's pistol.
Caleb was on the floor beneath him.
Ruiz's team saw the flash too.
The front door burst inward.
"Police!"
Daniel grabbed Caleb by the collar and dragged him upright.
The pistol pressed against Caleb's neck.
Emergency lights from police vehicles washed red and blue across the broken windows.
Elena rose slowly behind the sofa.
Vanessa caught her wrist.
"Don't."
Elena whispered.
"He needs to see me."
She stepped into the open.
"Daniel."
His eyes found her immediately.
"There she is."
Ruiz entered behind a ballistic shield.
"Drop the gun."
Daniel tightened his hold on Caleb.
"Back up."
Ruiz did not move.
Daniel looked at Elena.
"Tell him."
Elena remained still.
"Tell him what?"
"Tell him I walk out with the deed."
"And Caleb."
"Or Caleb dies."
Caleb laughed weakly despite the gun against his neck.
"You were always terrible at negotiations."
Daniel struck him with the pistol.
Elena's voice sharpened.
"Stop."
Daniel looked pleased by the reaction.
"You care about him now?"
"I care about people not dying because you think pain makes you powerful."
Daniel's smile vanished.
Elena continued.
"Your father humiliated you."
"You turned that into permission to humiliate everyone else."
"That's not revenge."
"It's inheritance."
The words hit deeper than Elena expected.
Daniel's eyes changed.
For one second, he looked like a son hearing his father's voice.
Ruiz saw the hesitation.
So did Vanessa.
She moved suddenly behind Elena.
Daniel swung the gun toward her.
Caleb drove his elbow backward into Daniel's ribs.
The pistol dropped.
Ruiz surged forward.
Daniel ran instead of fighting.
He crashed through the kitchen door and disappeared toward the rear deck.
Officers followed.
Elena rushed toward Caleb.
He was breathing hard but conscious.
"The deed," he said.
Elena looked around.
Daniel no longer had it.
Caleb pointed toward the fireplace.
A corner of plastic burned between the logs.
Vanessa grabbed the fire poker.
She pulled the package free.
The outer plastic had melted.
The document inside had already caught flame.
Elena stared at the fire consuming the only original proof.
Then Dr. Pierce spoke from behind them.
"Let it burn."
Everyone turned.
He held a second sealed envelope in his hand.
"That was never the original."
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THE REVERSED PLAN
