Chapter 7 - The Confrontation
The silence in the home office was utterly terrifying.
I held my breath, gripping the rolled-up forged document in my pocket like a lifeline.
Through the narrow slits of the louvered closet doors, I could see Marcus slowly walking toward me.
The dark object in his hand caught the faint moonlight filtering through the window curtains.
It was a heavy, matte-black handgun.
"Come out of there, Daniel," Marcus sneered, stopping just three feet away.
"I know you're in there, and I really don't want to ruin this expensive carpet."
Amanda gasped, stepping back toward the hallway door.
"Are you crazy? You can't shoot him in his own house!" she hissed at him.
"Shut up, Amanda, he has the power of attorney paper, and we need it back right now," Marcus snapped.
Knowing I was completely cornered, I slowly pushed the closet doors open and stepped out with my hands raised.
"You are insane if you think you can get away with this," I said, trying to project a confidence I didn't feel.
"The police already have your names, and my lawyer knows exactly where I am."
Marcus laughed, aiming the barrel directly at my chest.
"Your lawyer is irrelevant if you suffer a tragic home invasion gone wrong tonight."
He held out his empty left hand and gestured aggressively.
"Hand over the document, Daniel, and I might just let you walk out the back door."
I looked at Amanda, who was suddenly looking pale and terrified of the monster she had brought into my home.
"Did you know he was planning to murder me, Amanda?" I asked her calmly.
"I... I just wanted the money from the house," she stammered, backing further away.
"I never agreed to anyone getting hurt."
"Quiet!" Marcus roared, losing his temper and turning his head slightly to glare at her.
It was the only distraction I was going to get.
I grabbed a heavy brass bookend from the shelf beside me and hurled it directly at his face.
The heavy metal struck him hard in the shoulder, causing him to stagger backward with a shout of pain.
The gun went off with a deafening crack, the bullet shattering the window behind my desk.
I didn't wait to see if he recovered.
I lunged forward, shoving him violently against the wall, and bolted out of the office door.
I vaulted over the wooden staircase railing, skipping half the stairs and landing hard on the foyer floor.
"Get him!" Marcus screamed from the top of the stairs.
I scrambled to my feet, unlocked the front door, and sprinted out into the dark street.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, not stopping until I reached Sarah's car parked two blocks away.
I practically dove into the driver's seat, locked the doors, and sped away from the neighborhood.
My hands were shaking so violently I could barely hold the steering wheel.
I reached into my pocket to ensure the forged document was still safe.
May you like
I pulled out the rolled-up paper, but my heart sank straight into my stomach.
In the brief struggle, the paper had torn, leaving me holding nothing but the blank bottom half of the page.
