Chapter 3 - The Traitor in the Shadows
"Get down!" Vance roared, tackling my wheelchair to the ground.
The massive glass window behind me instantly shattered into a thousand jagged pieces.
A high-caliber bullet tore through the leather headrest where my skull had been resting just a second before.
I hit the hardwood floor hard, my useless legs twisting painfully beneath me.
Vance drew his weapon in a fluid motion and fired blindly into the darkness to provide covering fire.
"Crawl to the hallway, Ethan!" he yelled over the deafening sound of gunshots.
I dragged my heavy, paralyzed body across the polished floor using only my arms.
My elbows screamed in agony, but the primal fear of death pushed me forward.
Another bullet ripped through the drywall inches from my face, showering me in white plaster dust.
Vance managed to flank the doorway, stepping out and firing three precise shots.
A heavy body thudded onto the front porch, accompanied by the clatter of a dropped rifle.
Vance quickly secured the perimeter, pulling a tactical flashlight from his belt to illuminate the dead assassin.
He searched the man's pockets and pulled out a ringing cell phone.
Vance answered the call and put it on speaker so I could hear.
"Is the cripple finally dead?" a familiar, arrogant voice demanded through the speaker.
My blood ran completely cold.
It was Marcus, my trusted corporate lawyer and the man who controlled all my company's financial assets.
"Not yet, Marcus," I rasped loudly, leaning against the hallway wall.
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.
"Ethan, you have no idea what you have just stumbled into," Marcus whispered nervously.
"You are already a dead man walking, and tomorrow morning, your entire empire belongs to him."
Marcus abruptly ended the call, leaving us in the eerie silence of the ruined mansion.
"We need to leave right now," Vance said, helping me back into a spare wheelchair.
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"Gabriel is coming for everything I have," I realized, staring at the shattered glass on my floor.
Suddenly, the deafening wail of police sirens flooded the night air, and five squad cars blocked my driveway.
