Chapter 7 - The Gunshot
Lisa squeezed her eyes shut, entirely bracing herself for the agonizing, burning pain of a bullet tearing through her chest.
But the terrible, ending pain never arrived.
She opened her eyes and saw Zachary collapsing heavily onto the cold marble floor right in front of her.
He had thrown his body into the direct line of fire at the very last possible second.
A dark, spreading stain of crimson blood began to soak rapidly through his expensive white tuxedo shirt.
Ava shrieked in genuine, unadulterated horror, finally dropping the smoking handgun from her trembling fingers.
She fell to her knees, completely paralyzed by the horrific realization that she had just shot her only son.
Lisa instantly dropped to the floor beside Zachary, her hands moving frantically to assess the catastrophic damage.
She ripped the beautiful, expensive fabric of her emerald gown to create a makeshift pressure bandage.
She pressed the wadded silk firmly against Zachary's bleeding shoulder, begging him desperately to keep his eyes open.
Zachary smiled weakly up at her, coughing as he whispered that she looked absolutely beautiful in green.
Arthur shouted for the federal agents to call for a trauma ambulance immediately.
The agents swarmed Ava, roughly slamming her to the floor and clicking heavy steel handcuffs tightly around her wrists.
It seemed as though the nightmare was finally over and justice had been brutally served.
But the heavy oak front doors of the mansion were suddenly kicked open from the outside.
A squad of heavily armed local police officers rushed into the grand ballroom with their weapons drawn.
Leading them was Chief of Police Marcus Covington, Ava's younger brother and the most corrupt man in Nashville.
Marcus took one look at his sister in handcuffs and immediately pointed his service weapon directly at Arthur's head.
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He loudly ordered his local officers to arrest the federal agents for trespassing and attempted murder.
The room plunged into a terrifying, heavily armed standoff between the local police and the federal government.
