Chapter 5 - Blood and Glass
The roaring sound of the crashing waves below was deafening as Eleanor backed up to the edge of the rocky cliff.
The freezing rain battered their faces, making the jagged rocks incredibly slippery and dangerous.
Richard stepped slowly out of the tree line, a cruel, victorious smile playing on his lips.
He held the rifle loosely in his hands, knowing his family had absolutely nowhere left to run.
He mocked Eleanor, telling her she should have just accepted Julian and forgotten about the past.
He explained that all the money in the Sterling trust belonged to him, and he would not let a street rat take it away.
Richard ordered his armed guards to lower their weapons, wanting the final moment to be personal.
He demanded that Leo step forward, promising that if the boy jumped, he would let Eleanor and Julian live.
Leo, acting on years of surviving terrible abuse on the streets, actually took a step forward to sacrifice himself.
Eleanor screamed and grabbed his arm, pulling him back so forcefully they both nearly lost their balance.
Julian suddenly realized that the man he had called his father for eight years was nothing but a cold-blooded murderer.
Fueled by a sudden, protective rage, Julian picked up a heavy, jagged rock from the mud.
He charged forward with a furious scream and hurled the heavy stone directly at Richard's face.
The rock struck Richard squarely in the jaw, staggering the large man and causing him to drop the rifle.
The distraction gave Eleanor the precious seconds she needed to rush forward and kick the weapon off the cliff.
Enraged, Richard lunged forward blindly, grabbing Julian by his expensive coat to throw him over the edge.
Eleanor screamed as the two of them struggled violently in the slippery, freezing mud near the precipice.
Richard lost his footing on a patch of wet moss, his arms flailing wildly as gravity took over.
He plummeted backward over the edge of the cliff, disappearing into the dark, churning waters far below.
Eleanor rushed to the edge, dropping to her knees and peering over the terrifying drop.
May you like
She expected to see nothing but the violent sea, but instead, she heard a faint, desperate whimper.
Someone was holding onto a thin, brittle tree root just a few feet below the edge of the cliff.
