Chapter 9 - The Forest Hunt
The freezing wind whipped through the naked branches as I hunted the man who had tormented me for nine years.
The orange glow of the burning mansion cast long, demonic shadows across the forest floor.
I moved silently through the thick brush, channeling the ruthless Vance blood I had suppressed for so long.
I heard the frantic, heavy snapping of twigs about fifty yards ahead of me.
Julian was running blindly, panicked and exhausted, completely out of his element in the harsh wilderness.
I closed the distance rapidly, my grip on the heavy handgun steady and completely unwavering.
"Julian!" I shouted, my voice cutting through the cold night air like a knife.
He froze, stumbling over a large tree root and crashing hard into the freezing mud.
He scrambled frantically to his feet and turned to face me, holding the stolen flashlight like a weapon.
"Stay back, Nora!" Julian gasped, his chest heaving as he backed up against a massive oak tree.
I walked slowly toward him, the gun pointed directly at his chest.
"You abused my daughter over a dress," I said, my voice dangerously calm.
"You sold us out to a syndicate of killers just to save your pathetic, failing company."
Julian raised his hands defensively, tears streaming down his mud-covered face.
"I didn't know who you really were, Nora!" Julian pleaded desperately.
"If you had just told me you were a billionaire heiress, none of this would have happened!"
I laughed bitterly at his pathetic attempt to shift the blame.
"You didn't abuse me because you thought I was poor, Julian."
"You abused me because you thought I was powerless."
I stepped within three feet of him, the barrel of my gun perfectly leveled at his heart.
"And now you finally understand exactly how much power I truly have."
Julian looked into my eyes and realized I was completely capable of pulling the trigger.
He fell to his knees in the mud, crying like a broken, cowardly child.
"Please don't kill me," he sobbed.
Suddenly, the heavy boots of my brothers and the tactical operators surrounded the clearing.
Silas stepped forward with a pair of heavy steel handcuffs and secured Julian's wrists brutally behind his back.
"He isn't worth the bullet, Nora," Silas said softly, lowering my weapon with a gentle hand.
"He will spend the rest of his miserable life rotting in a windowless black site."
Julian looked up at us from the mud, a twisted, manic smile suddenly appearing on his face.
"You think you won tonight, don't you?" Julian laughed weakly, coughing up dirt.
"You think locking me away stops the man who actually orchestrated this entire nightmare."
Arthur grabbed Julian by the collar and hauled him roughly to his feet.
"Who is the mole inside our family, Julian?" Arthur demanded.
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Julian just kept smiling that terrifying, broken smile.
"He is already waiting for you at your safe house," Julian whispered chillingly.
