Chapter 18 - The Final Stand.The private dock swayed violently on the churning black waves, protesting against the sheer force of the storm.
Vance was desperately untying the thick mooring lines, the titanium briefcase resting safely on the deck of the heavily armored speedboat.
Emily stepped out of the shadows, her soaked uniform clinging to her shivering, exhausted frame.
She screamed his name over the roaring wind, stepping directly onto the narrow wooden gangway.
Vance spun around, instantly drawing his heavy sidearm and aiming it directly at her chest.
He sneered, mocking her relentless persistence and calling her a foolish girl who did not know when to die.
Before he could pull the trigger, a chilling, maniacal laugh echoed from the top of the stone staircase.
Daniel Sterling staggered down the steps, his expensive suit completely scorched and his face horribly burned from the study fire.
He was holding the heavy brass fire poker, his eyes glowing with the chaotic, unhinged light of a cornered predator.
He had somehow survived the inferno, and his mind had completely snapped under the weight of his crumbling empire.
Daniel did not care about the FBI, his wife, or the burning mansion above.
He pointed the bloody poker at Vance, demanding the titanium briefcase containing his entire fortune.
Vance scoffed, turning his weapon toward his former billionaire boss with absolute, lethal contempt.
He told Daniel that the cartel had already disowned him the moment the FBI breached the front gates.
In that split second of distraction, Emily hurled the heavy, jagged piece of slate with all her remaining strength.
The rock struck Vance squarely in the wrist, causing the heavy gun to discharge wildly into the stormy sky.
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The weapon slipped from his grip, plunging into the dark, freezing waters below.
Enraged, Vance lunged forward, tackling Emily brutally onto the hard, splintered wood of the swaying dock.
