Chapter 19 - The Brothers' War
While Clara stood over her father's body, a shadow bolted rapidly from behind the mahogany table.
Leo Castellano sprinted desperately toward the private elevator at the back of the room, clutching a silver derringer.
Adrian threw his empty assault rifle to the ground and charged after his treacherous younger brother like a wounded bear.
He tackled Leo just as the elevator doors began to open, sending them both crashing violently onto the steel floor of the cab.
The doors slid shut, locking the two brothers in a terrifyingly tight metal box of absolute violence.
Leo screamed in pure panic, wildly swinging the small silver gun toward Adrian's face.
Adrian caught Leo's wrist mid-air, twisting the bone violently until a sickening snap echoed in the small space.
Leo dropped the gun, howling in pain, but quickly retaliated by driving his knee viciously into Adrian's bleeding chest.
The brutal blow tore Adrian's stitches completely open, sending a fresh wave of warm blood soaking through his shirt.
Adrian ignored the blinding agony, wrapping his massive, blood-stained hands directly around Leo's throat.
"You killed our men, you slept with my wife, and you tried to take my crown," Adrian roared through the plastic tube.
Leo clawed desperately at Adrian's face, his eyes bulging wildly as his air supply was brutally cut off.
"You were weak, Adrian," Leo gasped pitifully, spitting blood into his older brother's face.
"You always lacked the stomach to do what was truly necessary."
The elevator dinged softly, and the heavy metal doors slid open to reveal the windy, rain-slicked helipad on the roof.
Adrian dragged his suffocating brother out onto the wet concrete, the freezing rain washing the blood from their faces.
He dragged Leo all the way to the unprotected edge of the towering skyscraper, forcing him to look down at the dizzying drop.
Clara suddenly sprinted out of the stairwell, her weapon raised and perfectly aimed at Leo's head.
"Let me finish him, Adrian," Clara shouted over the deafening roar of the freezing wind.
Adrian shook his head slowly, his grip tightening impossibly hard around his brother's neck.
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"This is family business, Clara," Adrian whispered softly, releasing his crushing grip.
He placed his heavy combat boot squarely on Leo's chest and kicked him violently backward off the edge of the roof.
