Chapter 9 - The Final Stand
Seraphina stepped in front of Julian, shielding him with her body.
"Shoot me, Marcus," she dared him, her voice echoing in the vault. "You wanted to marry me. You wanted my money. You killed my brother for it. Shoot me and lose it all."
"I already lost it all because of you, you ungrateful bitch!" Marcus screamed, his finger tightening on the trigger.
"Download complete," Julian whispered from behind her. He pulled the drive, simultaneously throwing a heavy gold bullion bar from the vault directly at Marcus’s face.
Marcus fired, the bullet grazing Julian’s shoulder. Seraphina tackled Marcus, her emerald gown tearing as she drove her knee into his stomach. The rifle clattered across the floor.
Marcus snarled, backhanding Seraphina across the face. She hit the ground hard, tasting blood. Marcus climbed on top of her, wrapping his hands around her throat.
"You ruined my life!" he spat, squeezing tightly. Seraphina’s vision began to spot with darkness, but she didn't panic. She reached out, her fingers searching the floor.
She found the heavy, sharp-edged gold bullion Julian had thrown.
With her last ounce of strength, Seraphina smashed the gold bar directly into the side of Marcus’s skull. Marcus collapsed, unconscious and bleeding on the pristine floor.
Julian rushed to her, pulling her up, checking her throat. "Sera! Are you okay?"
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She coughed, gasping for air, but she smiled, holding up the extraction drive. "I'm perfect."
The sound of police sirens wailed from the streets below. Julian had forwarded the data to the FBI ten minutes ago. The building was already surrounded.
