Chapter 8 - The Final Evidence
Julian's clothes were torn and covered in dirt, making him look like a desperate wild animal.
He held the flickering lighter dangerously close to the soaked grass.
"If I cannot have the money, then nobody gets to walk away from this," Julian snarled furiously.
Sterling stepped in front of me, completely blocking Julian's path to his newborn son.
"You have absolutely nothing left to fight for, Julian," Sterling said with a calm, commanding voice.
I stepped out from behind Sterling, clutching my sleeping baby tightly to my chest.
"You ruined my life, you destroyed my reputation, and you tried to sell my child," I stated boldly.
Julian laughed a pathetic, broken laugh that sounded more like a sob of defeat.
"You were always too smart for your own good, Vivian," he admitted bitterly.
"Which is exactly why I knew you would try something completely reckless like this," I countered.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my smartphone, the screen glowing brightly in the dark.
"I have been livestreaming this entire confrontation directly to the federal authorities for the last twenty minutes."
Julian's eyes widened in absolute horror as he stared at the red recording icon on my screen.
Every single confession, every threat, and every extortion demand had been captured in high definition.
The distant wail of multiple police sirens suddenly began to echo through the quiet forest.
Julian panicked, his hand trembling so violently that he nearly dropped the open lighter.
Sterling seized the momentary distraction and lunged forward with terrifying speed.
He tackled Julian aggressively to the muddy ground, knocking the lighter safely away from the gasoline.
Julian desperately tried to use his combat knife, but Sterling easily disarmed him with a brutal punch to the jaw.
Julian went completely limp, finally defeated by the consequences of his own arrogance.
Suddenly, a massive, earth-shattering explosion ripped through the abandoned mansion behind us.
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The shockwave knocked us all to the ground as the house collapsed in a fiery inferno.
Eleanor had failed to escape her own deadly trap in time.
