Chapter 5 - The Bleeding Heart
Ethan collapsed heavily onto the marble floor, blood rapidly blossoming across his crisp white tuxedo shirt.
A collective scream echoed through the ballroom as the guests dropped to the ground in sheer terror.
Vivian fell to her knees beside her bleeding son, unleashing a guttural, agonizing wail that shook the room.
Arthur stared at his own smoking gun, utterly paralyzed by the horrifying reality of what he had just done.
His momentary shock provided my father’s security team the exact opening they desperately needed.
One guard kicked the weapon out of Arthur's hand while the other tackled him aggressively to the ground.
The mercenaries hesitated, unsure if they should open fire on a crowd of highly influential billionaires.
I dropped to the floor beside Ethan, pressing my hands firmly against his bleeding chest to stop the hemorrhage.
His breathing was incredibly shallow, and his skin had turned a terrifying shade of translucent gray.
"Why did you do that?" I whispered, my tears finally falling onto his bloodstained shirt.
Ethan offered a weak, agonizing smile, coughing up a small amount of dark crimson blood.
"I could not protect you from my mother," he gasped softly. "But I could protect you from him."
He had finally found a shred of courage, but it had come at a catastrophic, heartbreaking cost.
My father knelt beside us, stripping off his expensive overcoat and pressing it hard against Ethan's wound.
"Hold on, boy," my father commanded, his voice carrying the authority of a seasoned battlefield commander.
Sirens began to wail loudly in the distance, growing rapidly closer to the country club.
Arthur, currently pinned to the floor by my father’s guard, began laughing like an absolute maniac.
"You think those sirens mean you are safe?" Arthur taunted, blood dripping from his split lip.
He proudly explained that he had spent the last five years paying off the local police precinct.
The officers arriving outside were entirely on his payroll, and they were coming to finish the job his mercenaries started.
"They are going to arrest you, Richard, and I am going to walk out of here a free man," Arthur gloated.
The heavy ballroom doors were suddenly kicked open from the outside by a squad of uniformed police officers.
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The lead officer marched directly toward my father, completely ignoring the bleeding man on the floor.
"Richard Vale, you are under arrest for armed assault and attempted murder," the corrupt officer declared, pulling out his handcuffs.
