Chapter 8 - The Viper's Den
Richard smiled a terrifying, unhinged smile, his eyes practically glowing with pure madness.
He revealed that the freezing ocean current had washed him onto the lower maintenance rocks, sparing his miserable life.
He gloated that money was the only true power in the world, capable of buying the loyalty of even the highest police captain.
Richard stepped into the van, violently throwing Eleanor against the metal wall and ripping the metal rod from her hands.
He used heavy plastic zip ties to bind Eleanor's wrists tightly behind her back, leaving her completely defenseless.
He then bound Leo and Julian together, sneering at his fake son for betraying him on the cliff.
Richard told them that the van they were sitting in was parked at the very edge of a deep-water pier.
He planned to put a heavy brick on the gas pedal and send the vehicle straight to the bottom of the freezing bay.
He confidently stated that the police captain would officially rule their deaths as a tragic murder-suicide orchestrated by a grieving mother.
Richard stepped out of the back of the van, slamming the heavy steel doors shut and locking them tightly.
Eleanor struggled frantically against the thick zip ties, but they cut painfully deep into her skin.
The sudden, terrifying roar of the van's engine revving heavily sent a wave of pure panic through the dark cabin.
Leo, accustomed to surviving impossible situations on the streets, quickly wriggled his bound hands toward his own neck.
He managed to pull off the sharp, tarnished silver family crest he had worn his entire life.
He twisted his body, carefully placing the sharp edge of the silver pendant into Eleanor's bound hands.
She sawed desperately at the thick plastic restraint, her wrists bleeding profusely as the engine roared louder.
With a loud snap, the thick plastic tie finally broke, freeing Eleanor's bleeding hands just in time.
She scrambled forward, using the metal rod she had dropped earlier to violently smash the glass partition dividing the cabin.
She reached through the broken glass, trying frantically to shift the heavy gear stick away from the drive position.
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Before her fingers could grip the handle, the vehicle violently lurched forward with terrifying speed.
The van launched entirely off the concrete pier, suspended in mid-air over the dark, freezing waters of the bay.
