Chapter 5 - The Ghost
I gasped in absolute disbelief as the man pulled his black tactical mask completely off his face.
It was Liam, my older brother who had supposedly died in a tragic boating accident seven years ago.
Arthur dropped his handgun to the floor, his face turning pale with sheer, unadulterated terror.
"You are supposed to be dead!" Arthur stammered, raising his hands in the air.
Liam kept his assault rifle aimed squarely at Arthur's chest, his jaw clenched with barely suppressed fury.
"I had to fake my death because I found out you were plotting to murder our entire family for the trust fund," Liam explained.
He turned to look at me, his eyes softening for a brief moment as he saw me hiding behind the desk.
"I have been watching from the shadows for years, waiting for them to finally make a mistake," Liam told me.
Mara slowly backed away toward the shattered window, frantically looking for a way out of the trap she had helped create.
Liam ordered her to stay exactly where she was, tossing a pair of heavy zip-ties onto the floor.
He forced Arthur and Mara to bind their own hands together, completely neutralizing the immediate threat.
I slowly stood up, my legs trembling as I walked over to hug the brother I had mourned for so long.
Liam embraced me tightly, apologizing for leaving me alone to face the cruelty of the world without him.
"We don't have much time, the real police are going to respond to that broken window very soon," Liam warned.
He walked over to Arthur's desk and grabbed the original trust documents that Daniel had stolen from the bank vault.
"We have the proof of their fraud, but Daniel is still out there with your sister," Liam said urgently.
The mention of Chloe brought the sickening reality of her betrayal rushing back to the forefront of my mind.
We rushed out of the executive suite, taking the emergency stairwell down to the underground parking garage to avoid the incoming police.
Liam drove us away in an unmarked black SUV, speeding through the city streets toward Chloe's downtown apartment.
I needed to confront my sister and find out exactly how deeply she was involved in Daniel's twisted game.
We arrived at her luxury apartment complex and bypassed the security desk by entering through the service elevator.
I pounded my fists aggressively against her door, demanding that she open it immediately.
Chloe finally opened the door, wearing a silk robe and holding a half-empty glass of expensive wine.
She looked at me in complete shock, her eyes darting nervously toward the interior of her apartment.
"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked, her voice trembling slightly as she tried to block my view of the living room.
I didn't wait for an invitation; I shoved past her and marched directly into the center of the apartment.
Daniel was sitting on her velvet sofa, wearing one of the few clean shirts he had managed to salvage from his car.
He jumped to his feet when he saw Liam standing right behind me, his face turning the color of ash.
"Liam? How are you alive?" Daniel whispered, stumbling backward over the coffee table.
I looked at my sister, my heart breaking as I saw the glittering fifty-thousand-dollar diamond ring sitting on her finger.
"You betrayed your own blood for a man who beats women," I said to Chloe, my voice filled with disgust.
Chloe burst into tears, dropping her wine glass onto the hardwood floor where it shattered into pieces.
"He promised me we would be rich, he said you were going to lose the house anyway!" she sobbed pathetically.
Liam stepped forward, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his tactical vest and advancing on Daniel.
May you like
Before Liam could arrest him, Daniel pulled a small remote detonator from his pocket and held his thumb over the red button.
"If you take one more step, I will blow your beautiful garden house entirely to ashes," Daniel threatened with a manic smile.
