Chapter 5 - The Architect's Revenge
The revelation hit me with the devastating force of a physical blow.
My grandfather had not died in a tragic, unfortunate accident on the mountain roads.
He had been brutally murdered by the woman standing directly in front of me.
A cold, blinding rage replaced all the fear and exhaustion in my broken body.
I looked into Vanessa's arrogant eyes and realized she fully intended to kill me anyway.
I pulled the heavy gold badge from my pocket and held it out toward her greedy hands.
Just as her fingers brushed the metal, I intentionally dropped the badge onto the polished marble floor.
Vanessa cursed and instinctively bent down to retrieve the priceless object.
That single second of distraction was all I needed.
I reached up and grabbed the fire alarm pull station mounted on the nearby pillar.
I yanked the heavy red lever down with every ounce of strength I had left.
The emergency systems roared to life, instantly triggering the massive ballroom fire sprinklers.
Thousands of gallons of freezing water rained down from the ceiling, completely blinding the mercenaries.
The sudden deluge caused chaos, making the marble floor impossibly slippery and dangerous.
I lunged forward, grabbed Vanessa by her expensive hair, and dragged her behind a heavy concrete pillar.
I pulled her own concealed handgun from her designer purse and pressed the barrel under her chin.
"Tell your men to drop their weapons, or you die right here," I commanded over the roaring water.
Vanessa shrieked in terror as the cold steel pressed tightly against her throat.
"Drop the guns!" she screamed frantically to her blinded guards.
The mercenaries hesitated, lowering their tactical rifles as the freezing water continued to pour.
I backed toward the service elevator, keeping Vanessa firmly securely as a human shield.
The elevator doors suddenly chimed and slid open behind me.
I expected to see more of Daniel's hired thugs coming to reinforce the lobby.
Instead, a massive, heavily scarred man in a tailored Russian suit stepped out of the elevator.
It was Nikolai Volkov, the ruthless leader of the international syndicate.
And standing right behind him, looking completely terrified, was my cousin Daniel.
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"Well, this is certainly a messy way to conduct a business transaction," Volkov laughed deeply.
He raised a heavy, silver revolver and aimed it directly at Daniel's forehead.
