Chapter 9 - The Execution in the Dark
The glass doors of the lower courtyard shattered inward with a loud crash as Trevor Langley and Victor Vance stumbled into the estate’s grand conservatory, soaked to the bone from the freezing rain.
Trevor held the black revolver with both hands, his body shaking violently as he looked around the dark, cavernous space lined with marble statues and tropical plants.
“Hannah!” Trevor screamed into the shadows, his voice echoing off the high glass roof. “Hannah, come out! You owe me! You destroyed my life!”
“She owes you nothing, Trevor,” a voice purred from the darkness.
The grand lights of the conservatory suddenly flickered on, illuminating the space in brilliant, unforgiving white glare.
Julian Cross stood at the top of the short marble staircase leading to the main hall. He was wearing his dark trousers, a white shirt with sleeves rolled up, holding his Sig Sauer casually at his side.
Behind him, eight heavily armed syndicate contractors stepped out from the shadows, their automatic rifles aimed directly at the three intruders.
Victor Vance’s hired mercenary immediately dropped his weapon, raising his hands in absolute terror. “I surrendered! I was hired! I didn't know—”
Thud.
Marcus stepped up behind the mercenary, striking him in the neck with the butt of his rifle, dropping him unconscious to the floor.
Victor Vance dropped his gun, collapsing onto his knees, weeping hysterically. “Julian! Please! Trevor convinced me to do this! It was his idea!”
Trevor stood alone in the center of the room, pointing his shaking revolver toward Julian.
“You took everything from me!” Trevor shrieked, tears mixing with the rainwater on his face. “She was mine first! She loved me! You just bought her with your money!”
Julian slowly walked down the marble steps, stopping ten feet from Trevor’s raised gun. He didn't even raise his own weapon. He stood tall, imposing, and completely destitute of fear.
“She was never yours, Trevor,” Julian said softly, his voice carrying the cold, absolute truth of the universe. “You had a diamond in your hands, and you threw it into the dirt because you were afraid of your mother. You left her to bleed. I found her, I cherished her, and I built a fortress around her soul.”
Julian took one step closer.
“You are not a man, Trevor,” Julian whispered, his hazel eyes flashing with lethal fury. “You are a pathetic shadow that stayed too long in the light.”
Trevor pulled the trigger!
Click.
The gun dry-fired. Marcus had already remotely disabled the firing pin mechanism when Trevor breached the gatehouse.
Trevor stared at his gun in horror.
Julian moved with blinding, predator speed. He stepped forward, grabbed Trevor by the throat with his left hand, and lifted the younger man off his feet, slamming him hard against the thick marble pillar!
Trevor gagged, his legs dangling uselessly in the air, his eyes bulging as Julian’s fingers choked the air from his lungs.
“Please...” Trevor choked out, tears streaming down his face. “Please...”
Julian looked into his weeping eyes, his expression utterly emotionless.
“My wife spared your life at the St. Regis,” Julian growled softly. “I am not as merciful as she is.”
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Julian did not shoot him. He snapped Trevor’s right wrist with a sickening crack, causing Trevor to scream in absolute agony before dropping him like a sack of trash onto the wet floor.
“Take them both,” Julian ordered his operatives coldly. “Put them on a cargo ship heading to the private slate mines in Northern Chile. They will spend the rest of their natural lives counting rocks.”
