Chapter 6 - The Detonator
The room fell deathly silent as Daniel held the small red detonator high in the air.
He was sweating profusely, his eyes darting frantically between Liam's tactical vest and my horrified face.
"I planted explosive charges in the basement of your precious house right after I moved out this morning," Daniel confessed.
He let out a desperate, unhinged laugh that made my blood run completely cold.
"If I am going to prison, you are going to lose the one thing you care about more than me," he spat.
Chloe screamed in sheer terror, backing away from the man she had foolishly planned to marry.
"You said we were just taking her money, you never said anything about bombs!" Chloe cried hysterically.
Liam raised his hands slowly, trying to de-escalate the volatile situation before Daniel could press the button.
"You don't want to do this, Daniel, you are looking at federal terrorism charges now," Liam warned him in a steady voice.
Daniel shook his head violently, tears of frustration streaming down his bruised face.
"I have nothing left to lose, Arthur is going to kill me anyway for failing the mission," Daniel sobbed.
I took a slow, calculated step forward, looking directly into the eyes of the man who had abused me for six years.
"You are a coward, Daniel, and you always have been," I said, my voice dripping with absolute venom.
He glared at me, his thumb trembling dangerously close to the trigger mechanism.
I knew that if I showed even a single ounce of fear, he would press the button just to feel powerful again.
"Go ahead and press it," I challenged him, crossing my arms over my chest with total defiance.
Daniel blinked in shock, clearly not expecting me to call his deadly bluff in front of everyone.
"The house is insured for three times its value, and I already have my father's trust documents back," I lied smoothly.
I pointed to the folder in Liam's hands to sell the deception completely.
"If you press that button, you give me a massive insurance payout, and you get a life sentence in maximum security," I stated.
The cruel logic of my words finally pierced through his desperate, manic state of mind.
Daniel's hand began to lower slightly as the reality of his hopeless situation finally sank in.
In that brief moment of hesitation, Liam lunged forward with explosive speed and tackled Daniel to the floor.
The detonator flew from Daniel's grasp, skittering harmlessly across the hardwood floor toward my feet.
I quickly stomped on the plastic device, crushing the delicate electronic components beneath my heel.
Liam pinned Daniel to the ground, aggressively twisting his arms behind his back and snapping the steel handcuffs into place.
Chloe collapsed onto the sofa, weeping loudly as she realized she had ruined her life for a pathetic, violent criminal.
I looked down at my sister with absolute pity and told her I never wanted to see her face again.
Liam dragged a cursing, struggling Daniel out into the hallway and toward the service elevator.
We needed to get him to the authorities and send a bomb squad to my house immediately.
As we stepped out into the underground parking garage, a dark, sleek limousine pulled up right in front of us.
The tinted window slowly rolled down, revealing the furious, wrinkled face of Daniel's mother, Gloria.
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"Let my son go this instant, or you will all deeply regret it," Gloria demanded harshly.
She snapped her fingers, and four heavily armed mercenaries stepped out from the shadows of the concrete pillars.
