Chapter 15 - The Flames of Ruin.The violent struggle between Daniel and Vanessa knocked over a massive, ornate candelabra resting on the desk.
Tall, lit candles tumbled onto the scattered piles of financial documents and cartel shipping manifests.
Dry paper caught fire instantly, sending eager, hungry flames racing across the mahogany surface.
Emily watched in absolute horror as the fire quickly spread to the heavy velvet drapes lining the windows.
Daniel struck his wife viciously across the face, knocking the pearl-handled derringer out of her grip.
The tiny gun slid across the polished floor, coming to a halt directly at Emily’s feet.
Vanessa collapsed against the burning desk, clutching her bleeding jaw as she coughed on the thickening smoke.
Daniel turned his murderous gaze back to Emily, his eyes reflecting the rapidly growing inferno.
He grabbed a heavy brass fire poker from the hearth, stalking toward her with homicidal intent.
Emily bent down and snatched the derringer from the floor, her hands remarkably steady despite the terror.
She aimed it squarely at Daniel’s chest, warning him to stay back or she would finish what his wife started.
Daniel ignored her warning, raising the heavy brass poker high above his head for a lethal strike.
Emily pulled the trigger, but the gun responded with a hollow, useless click.
The derringer only held a single round, and Vanessa had already spent it during the initial struggle.
Daniel laughed triumphantly, swinging the heavy metal rod downward with terrifying speed.
Emily dodged to the left, the poker smashing violently into the floorboards right where she had been standing.
She scrambled toward the heavy oak doors, throwing her entire body weight against the brass handles.
She burst out into the hallway, the roaring flames of the study instantly consuming the space behind her.
Thick, black smoke billowed out into the corridor, setting off a deafening chorus of fire alarms throughout the mansion.
From outside the estate, the faint, glorious wail of approaching police sirens cut through the stormy night air.
The FBI had received Marcus's data drop, and an army of tactical units was storming the cliffside property.
Emily ran toward the grand foyer, leaving the Sterling empire to burn into ash and ruin.
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She had entered the mansion as a defenseless maid, but she was leaving it as a survivor.
The night was finally over, but the shocking truth of the Sterling cartel would forever change the world.
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