Chapter 15: The Cliffhanger
Chapter 15: The Cliffhanger
The silence in the room was absolute, broken only by the sound of Aunt Carol’s stifled sobbing. I raised my phone in my left hand, my thumb hovering over the banking app interface, illuminated by the harsh glare of the screen. My right hand kept the Glock perfectly level, my sights shifting from Valenti's chest to aim right between his eyes.
"Do it, Kristen! Please, just give him the money!" my father sobbed from the floor, struggling against his plastic restraints.
I looked at the broken man on the floor—the man who had repeatedly enabled Diane, trading his other grandchildren's safety for a hollow, temporary peace. Then I looked at Diane, whose reckless greed and narcissistic delusions had literally invited killers into our lives. If I unlocked the funds, Valenti would kill us anyway to leave no witnesses.
I swiped my thumb. I unlocked the screen.
Before I could tap the final transfer button, a harsh, static crackle echoed through the cavernous dining room. It wasn't coming from my phone. It was coming from the tactical walkie-talkie clipped to Valenti's designer belt.
A tiny, familiar, terrified voice drifted clearly out of the radio speaker, cutting through the room's tension like a knife.
"Mommy? The blue birdhouse is beeping... there are men outside the door."
My blood turned to absolute ice. My lungs seized. It was Mia's voice. They had found our safehouse. They were on the same radio frequency. The birdhouse wasn't a toy; it was a proximity alarm, and it had just been tripped.
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Valenti’s cruel smile returned, darker and far more triumphant than before. He tilted his head, savoring the pure horror washing over my face. "Looks like you'll need another plan," he whispered maliciously.
I didn't hesitate. I took a sharp breath, tightened my grip on the Glock, and squeezed the trigger.
