Chapter 7 - The Brother's Betrayal
We piled into the back of the armored SUV, completely exhausted and bleeding.
Julian slammed his foot on the gas pedal, tearing out of the garage and speeding toward the rear service gates.
Vincent leaned his head back against the leather seat, thanking his brother for saving our lives.
I held Leo tightly to my chest, checking his faint pulse as the vehicle bounced aggressively over the gravel road.
Julian stared at us through the rearview mirror, but his eyes did not hold any warmth or relief.
He did not drive toward the police barricades flashing their lights at the front entrance.
Instead, he steered the heavy vehicle deep into the isolated, sprawling woods at the back of the massive estate.
Vincent noticed the strange direction and asked Julian why he was driving away from the authorities.
Julian calmly pressed a button on the dashboard, instantly locking all the passenger doors with a heavy metallic clank.
He coldly stated that he could not let Vincent speak to the police about Doctor Blake's pharmaceutical syndicate.
Vincent stared at the back of his brother's head in absolute horror.
Julian confessed that he had brokered the original deal with Blake five years ago to secure endless funding for their company.
Julian wanted sole control of the entire Moretti empire, but Vincent refused to step down as CEO.
The boys' slow, untraceable deaths would legally guarantee that Julian became the sole heir to the billionaire fortune.
Julian pulled a suppressed pistol from his jacket, keeping one hand steadily on the steering wheel.
He told Vincent that this tragic night would end with a heroic uncle arriving just too late to save his murdered family from a crazy nanny.
I knew we had absolutely nothing to lose in this rolling steel cage.
I grabbed the heavy metal seatbelt buckle and smashed it brutally into the back of Julian's skull.
Julian screamed in pain, completely losing control of the heavy armored SUV.
The vehicle careened wildly off the dirt path and smashed head-on into a massive oak tree.
The airbags deployed violently, filling the cabin with thick white smoke and the smell of burning rubber.
I kicked the shattered side window out with my boots and dragged the unconscious boys into the freezing, muddy woods.
Vincent stumbled out right behind me, his shoulder bleeding profusely from the earlier gunshot.
We scrambled deep into the dark, tangled brush, hiding behind a massive fallen log.
Flashlight beams began to cut through the trees as Julian and his arriving mercenaries started hunting us in the dark.
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Suddenly, little Leo stopped breathing completely in my arms.
The toxic chemical from the vents had finally reached a lethal, critical level in his small, fragile body.
