Chapter 4 - The Hostage
The entire courtroom froze in absolute terror as Charles pressed the silver barrel against his sister’s temple.
Victoria whimpered in fear, completely regretting her decision to expose her dangerous brother.
The armed bailiffs had their weapons drawn, but they could not fire without risking the terrified woman’s life.
Charles demanded a clear path to the underground parking garage and a fully fueled vehicle.
He screamed that he was not going to spend the rest of his life rotting in a concrete federal prison cell.
Maria tightened her protective embrace around Oliver, shielding his small body with her own.
Charles glared at them, his eyes filled with a terrifying, unhinged madness that sent shivers down the spine.
He declared that if he could not have the family fortune, no one in this miserable room would have it either.
He slowly began to drag his sobbing sister backward, step by step, toward the heavy wooden double doors.
The judge calmly urged Charles to lower the weapon, warning him that he was only making things worse.
Charles laughed maliciously, stating that the law had completely failed him and he made his own rules now.
As he reached blindly behind him to push the heavy door open, a massive figure suddenly blocked his path.
Vance, who had been quietly picking the locks on his handcuffs during the chaos, lunged forward.
The towering security chief tackled Charles to the ground, completely disregarding his own personal safety.
The silver revolver discharged with a deafening bang, the bullet shattering the expensive glass light fixture above.
Sparks rained down onto the gallery as people screamed and ducked for cover beneath the heavy wooden benches.
Vance delivered a brutal punch to Charles’s jaw, instantly knocking the disgraced billionaire completely unconscious.
The bailiffs swarmed the two men, securing Charles in heavy chains and taking the weapon away.
Victoria collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably as the sheer terror finally left her body.
Vance looked up at the judge, rubbing his bruised knuckles with a calm, stoic expression.
He stated that he might be a corrupt mercenary, but he drew the line at shooting unarmed women in a courtroom.
The judge thanked Vance for his intervention but firmly reminded him that he was still facing serious arson charges.
As the adrenaline began to fade, the courtroom doors slowly creaked open from the outside.
A man wearing a sharp federal suit and mirrored sunglasses stepped into the ruined, smoky room.
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He flashed a gold FBI badge and announced that this entire case was now under federal jurisdiction.
He looked directly at Maria and coldly told her that she was coming with him for immediate questioning.
