Chapter 9 - The Greenhouse Standoff
Julian cocked the hammer of his gun, looking down at his wounded brother with absolute disgust.
He mocked Vincent for being too weak to do what was necessary to build a true global empire.
Vincent stood up slowly, positioning his bleeding body between the gun and his young children.
He looked Julian dead in the eye and told him that true empires were never built on the blood of innocent children.
Julian simply laughed, aiming the barrel squarely between Vincent's eyes.
He prepared to pull the trigger and end the Moretti legacy forever.
I silently picked up a heavy, glass beaker filled with highly concentrated, acidic fertilizer from the potting bench.
I hurled the glass beaker with every ounce of strength I had directly at Julian's face.
The glass shattered against his cheek, splashing the burning, acidic chemical straight into his eyes.
Julian screamed in absolute agony, dropping his pistol as he clutched his burning face.
Vincent did not hesitate for a single second.
He tackled his brother to the stone floor, delivering a massive, punishing blow to Julian's jaw.
Julian went completely limp, finally knocked unconscious among the shattered orchids.
I scooped up Julian's dropped pistol, pointing it toward the entrance of the greenhouse.
Heavy sirens wailed deafeningly loud as dozens of police cruisers finally breached the rear security gates of the estate.
The flashing red and blue lights illuminated the entire greenhouse in a chaotic, spinning glow.
I had managed to send a desperate text message to 911 using the dead house manager's burner phone hours ago.
Armed tactical officers flooded into the glass building, securing the unconscious Julian and demanding we drop our weapons.
I lowered the pistol and fell to my knees, holding the waking twins tightly against my chest.
The paramedics rushed in immediately, loading the boys onto stretchers to monitor their stabilizing heart rates.
Vincent leaned against the glass wall, completely exhausted but smiling as he watched his sons finally breathe easily.
An older police captain walked over to us, his face grim despite the successful rescue.
He informed Vincent that they had captured Julian and the mercenaries, but someone very important was missing.
Doctor Blake had completely vanished into the woods during the chaos, escaping justice once again.
Before we could process the doctor's escape, a loud, synthetic beep echoed from Julian's dropped cell phone on the floor.
May you like
Vincent looked down at the glowing screen and his face drained of all remaining color.
Julian had remotely triggered the estate's massive underground gas lines, and the timer was at five seconds.
