Chapter 9 - The Ultimate Betrayal.
Ryan tackled Jessica hard to the floor, knocking the silver pistol out of her hand.
It skittered across the hardwood floor, coming to a rest just inches from my boots.
I immediately kicked the weapon down the stairs, completely neutralizing the immediate threat.
Ryan pinned Jessica down, looking up at Victor with a desperate, pathetic pleading in his eyes.
"I caught her for you, Victor!" Ryan shouted, sweating profusely.
"She was the one who stole your money, and I was just trying to stop her!"
Jessica screamed in absolute fury, clawing violently at Ryan's face with her manicured nails.
"You lying coward!" she shrieked.
"This was all your idea!"
I ignored the pathetic lovers tearing each other apart on the floor.
I rushed forward and swept Sophie into my arms, holding her so tightly I thought I might crush her.
She buried her face in my neck, crying softly but remarkably safe.
Victor watched Ryan and Jessica fight with an expression of absolute, terrifying disgust.
He signaled to his massive bodyguards.
The two men stepped forward, effortlessly hauling Ryan and Jessica off the floor by their collars.
"You owe me five hundred thousand dollars, Ryan," Victor said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
"And you, my dear wife, owe me a great deal more."
Before Victor could order his men to drag them away, the loud wail of police sirens pierced the night air.
Sarah had managed to press the silent panic button on her phone before Jessica knocked her down.
Red and blue lights flooded the windows of the safe house.
Victor cursed quietly, realizing he could not kidnap them with a dozen police officers surrounding the property.
He adjusted his expensive suit and looked at me with a nod of profound respect.
"Our deal is complete," Victor told me calmly.
"The debt is void, and the police will handle the rest."
Victor and his men walked calmly down the stairs, slipping out the back door just as the police breached the front.
Dozens of armed officers swarmed the second floor, aiming their weapons at Ryan and Jessica.
My husband tried to lie one last time, claiming I had orchestrated the entire violent encounter.
The lead detective simply smiled and pulled out a digital audio recorder.
"We found the recorder hidden under your coffee table before the fire completely destroyed the living room," the detective announced.
"We heard your entire confession about the life insurance policy and the murder plot."
Ryan’s face drained of all color as the heavy steel handcuffs were violently slapped onto his wrists.
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Jessica sobbed hysterically as she was dragged down the stairs right behind him.
The nightmare was finally, truly over.
