Chapter 9 - The Final Stand
I froze completely as the cold steel pressed against my skull.
Dustin chuckled darkly behind me and ordered me to turn around slowly.
I turned around and faced the monster I had spent seven years loving.
"You really thought you could outsmart me in my own building?" Dustin mocked.
He snatched the physical decryption key from my trembling hand and tossed it onto his desk.
He paced around the office and gloated about his perfect, untouchable criminal empire.
He confessed that he had never loved me and only married me because my high salary helped fund his early investments.
He prepared to shoot me and promised to frame my death as a desperate suicide caused by my embezzlement charges.
He raised the gun and aimed it directly at the space between my eyes.
"Goodbye, Audrey," Dustin whispered softly.
Suddenly, the heavy glass doors of the office were violently kicked open.
The FBI strike team poured into the room with laser sights aimed at Dustin's chest.
Dustin panicked and grabbed me by the neck, using me as a human shield against the federal agents.
He backed up toward the massive floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.
He screamed that he would jump and take me with him if they did not drop their weapons.
The agents hesitated, unwilling to risk a hostage situation.
I closed my eyes, preparing for the terrible fall.
Without any warning, a heavy red fire extinguisher crashed violently into the side of Dustin's head.
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Dustin's grip loosened instantly and he collapsed onto the carpet completely unconscious.
I turned around and saw my mother standing there, breathing heavily with both hands gripping the red cylinder.
