Chapter 9 - The Fire
The heavy hunting rifle fired violently, the deafening gunshot tearing completely through the ceiling of the master bedroom.
Plaster and wood violently rained down on us as I forcefully wrestled the weapon out of Rebecca's manicured hands.
I used the heavy wooden stock of the rifle to aggressively strike her across the jaw.
Rebecca screamed in absolute agony, dropping the silver lighter as she collapsed heavily onto the gasoline-soaked carpet.
Ryan scrambled desperately off the bed, completely ignoring his mother, and scrambled frantically toward the open doorway.
He was a complete coward to the very bitter end.
But before Ryan could escape the room, a massive tactical shadow stepped aggressively into the doorway.
Arthur Sterling had not waited outside with the local police, he had silently followed me into the house.
Arthur raised his heavy tactical boot and violently kicked Ryan squarely in the center of his chest.
Ryan flew backward, crashing brutally through a glass display cabinet and collapsing into a bleeding, pathetic heap.
"Nobody threatens my daughter," Arthur growled, his voice rumbling with absolute, lethal authority.
Arthur grabbed my arm firmly, rapidly pulling me toward the safety of the hallway.
But Rebecca was not finished.
She pushed herself up from the floor, her mouth completely bloody and her eyes burning with pure, unadulterated madness.
"If I cannot have the Sterling fortune, then nobody will!" Rebecca shrieked hysterically.
She lunged toward the silver Zippo lighter resting on the floor, aggressively flicking the metal wheel.
A small, bright yellow flame instantly ignited in the palm of her hand.
"Run!" Arthur screamed, shoving me forcefully down the grand wooden staircase just as Rebecca dropped the lighter.
The entire second floor of the house violently erupted into a massive, roaring inferno of orange fire.
The explosive shockwave violently threw Arthur and me down the remaining stairs, sending us crashing heavily into the front door.
The heat was absolutely instantaneous and completely suffocating, rapidly consuming the walls and the ceiling above us.
Federal agents rushed forward, violently breaking the front door completely off its hinges to drag us out onto the lawn.
I collapsed onto the cool, damp grass, coughing violently as the thick, toxic black smoke burned my lungs.
I looked back at the house, completely mesmerized by the absolute destruction of my former, miserable life.
The massive roof violently collapsed inward, burying Rebecca and Ryan Montgomery beneath tons of burning rubble.
The corrupt, abusive family that had stolen my identity and tortured me for eleven years was completely erased from the earth.
Paramedics rushed over, quickly placing a clean oxygen mask entirely over my soot-covered face.
"Is the baby okay?" I rasped frantically, completely ignoring the painful burns on my hands and arms.
The paramedic quickly ran a portable ultrasound over my stomach, offering a warm, deeply reassuring smile.
"The heartbeat is completely strong and steady, ma'am," the medic confirmed gently. "You are both perfectly safe."
Arthur knelt in the grass beside me, wrapping his strong, protective arms tightly around my shoulders.
"It is completely over, Mariana," Arthur whispered softly, kissing the top of my ash-covered head.
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"We are going home now, to a family that actually loves you."
I closed my eyes, finally letting go of eleven years of profound pain, ready to embrace my true, wonderful life.
