Chapter 6 - The True Mastermind
Marcus screamed in agony and dropped his weapon as a bullet shattered his right shoulder.
He released his grip on Sam and collapsed heavily onto the muddy grass of the maze.
Robert rushed forward, grabbing Sam and pulling the terrified child securely behind his back.
He looked toward the entrance of the courtyard to see who had fired the miraculous shot.
Elizabeth sat in her motorized backup wheelchair, holding a smoking hunting rifle perfectly steady.
She had bravely wheeled herself out into the raging storm to protect her husband and the boy.
Robert looked at his fierce wife with a profound, overwhelming sense of awe and deep love.
He walked over to the bleeding traitor and kicked his discarded weapon far away.
He demanded to know exactly where Silas was hiding and how to end this nightmare forever.
Marcus coughed up a mixture of rainwater and blood, laughing with a sickening, dark humor.
He told Robert that Silas was never the true mastermind behind this elaborate operation.
Silas was just another highly paid mercenary executing orders from someone much closer to home.
Marcus revealed that the person trying to steal the company was Robert's own business partner, Vance.
Vance had orchestrated the fake DNA test and the entire home invasion to force Robert into a breakdown.
With Robert declared mentally unstable, Vance would legally seize control of the billion-dollar corporation.
Robert felt a crushing wave of profound betrayal wash completely over his exhausted body.
Vance was the godfather to their deceased daughter and a man Robert loved like a brother.
Marcus smiled cruelly and delivered one final, devastating piece of information before passing out.
He whispered that Vance already had legally binding, perfectly forged adoption papers for Sam.
If Vance adopted the boy, he would control the child that Robert desperately wanted to protect.
Suddenly, the wail of dozens of police sirens pierced through the howling autumn storm.
Red and blue emergency lights flashed brightly against the towering walls of the hedge maze.
Robert thought they were finally saved, completely unaware of the trap that had just been sprung.
He helped Elizabeth safely back inside the mansion just as the police violently breached the front gates.
A team of heavily armed tactical officers swarmed the grand foyer, their weapons drawn.
Following closely behind the police was Vance, wearing a tailored suit and a perfectly fake expression of deep concern.
Vance dramatically pointed a finger directly at Robert and shouted a completely fabricated accusation.
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He loudly declared to the police that Robert Ellington had violently kidnapped a homeless child.
The officers immediately rushed forward and tackled Robert aggressively to the marble floor.
