Chapter 10: The Ultimatum Under Glass
Victoria stopped ten feet away from them, raising the silver revolver just high enough to make her intentions unmistakable.
"Give me the folder, Evelyn," Victoria said softly, her eyes narrowing as she stared down at the leather-bound packet clutched in the housekeeper’s hands. "You’ve caused quite enough trouble for one night. A tragic fire, an unfortunate break-in... and now, an accidental fall from the greenhouse roof. The police are terribly overworked these days; they’ll believe almost any report we file."
Evelyn scrambled backward, placing her body protectively between Victoria and Noah. "You’re insane, Victoria. You killed Daniel, you tried to burn Noah alive, and you think you can just buy your way out of this?"
Victoria let out a short, cold laugh. "Daniel was weak. He wanted to give away everything his father built to a crippled child who couldn't even run a lemonade stand, let alone a multi-billion-dollar industrial conglomerate. The world belongs to the strong, Evelyn. And the strong make the rules."
Marcus Vance stepped forward, checking his watch with clinical indifference. "The county courthouse opens in six hours, Victoria. We need to secure the primary signatures and delete the server mirror files before Judge Henderson takes the bench."
"Agreed," Victoria said, raising the revolver slightly, her finger tightening against the trigger guard. "Hand it over, Evelyn. Or I promise you, the fire won't be the only tragedy tonight."
Noah clenched his small fists, his eyes blazing with a courage that defied his years. He slowly reached into the side pocket of his wheelchair, his fingers closing around something small and heavy he had picked up from the archive floor during their escape.
"You won't get away with it, Victoria," Noah said, his voice ringing clear and steady through the open greenhouse. "The whole world is going to know what you did."
Victoria sneered, shifting her aim away from Evelyn and directly toward the boy. "No one is going to know anything, you pathetic little mistake."
She pulled the hammer back with a sharp click.
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Before the gun could fire, a sudden, blinding flash of light exploded from the doorway behind Victoria and Marcus, accompanied by a booming voice echoing off the glass walls.
"DROP THE WEAPON! GREENWICH POLICE DEPARTMENT! NOBODY MOVE!"
