Chapter 10 - The False Victory
My vision swam in a dizzying blur as I slowly regained consciousness.
The back of my head throbbed with a sickening, heavy pain.
I was lying on the cold wooden floor of the cabin, my hands bound tightly behind my back with thick zip-ties.
I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the dark spots dancing across my vision.
Detective Vance was standing directly above me, holding the suppressed pistol I had brought into the cabin.
"You really made this too easy for me, Marcus," Vance said, his voice dripping with absolute contempt.
Lauren and Olivia walked into the hallway, standing safely behind the protective detective.
Lauren looked down at me without a single ounce of pity in her beautiful eyes.
"You should have just stayed in Asheville with her, Marcus," Lauren whispered coldly.
"If you had just disappeared like a coward, we would not have had to deal with this mess."
I struggled against the tight plastic restraints, my wrists burning with sharp pain.
"You are going to let them get away with this?" I yelled at Detective Vance.
"They faked a kidnapping and stole millions of dollars!"
Vance smiled a dark, completely corrupt smile.
"They did not steal anything, Marcus," Vance corrected me smoothly.
"They simply secured an early retirement fund for my family."
Vance raised the heavy pistol and aimed it directly at the center of my forehead.
"You broke into this cabin, assaulted my daughter, and I had to shoot you in self-defense," Vance narrated casually.
"It is a perfectly clean end to a very tragic domestic violence case."
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the final, fatal gunshot.
Suddenly, a massive explosion of shattered glass echoed from the living room behind them.
Three heavily armed tactical operatives dressed in complete black gear swarmed into the cabin.
They moved with terrifying precision, instantly tackling Detective Vance to the floor and disarming him.
Lauren screamed in pure terror as another operative forced her brutally against the wooden wall.
Olivia raised her hands in absolute surrender, crying hysterically as a laser sight painted her chest.
The lead operative walked over to me, pulled a combat knife, and easily sliced the zip-ties binding my wrists.
He grabbed my arm and hauled me roughly to my feet.
"Are you Marcus?" the operative asked in a gruff, mechanical voice.
"Yes," I gasped, my heart hammering wildly in my chest.
I looked at the captured villains on the floor, a massive wave of relief washing over my exhausted body.
I had miraculously survived the execution, and the corrupt detective had finally been stopped.
I thought the nightmare was completely over and I had finally won my freedom.
The lead operative reached into his tactical vest and pulled out a ringing cell phone.
He answered the call, listened for exactly two seconds, and handed the phone directly to me.
I held the phone to my ear, expecting to hear the voice of a federal agent or a police captain.
May you like
Instead, a chillingly familiar voice whispered softly through the speaker.
"Did you really think my pathetic sister was the mastermind behind this entire operation, Marcus?" David asked.
