Chapter 9 - The Ashes of Betrayal
The aviation fuel ignited instantly, sending a massive wall of orange flame roaring across the tarmac.
The sudden inferno completely cut off Victor's guards, forcing them to scatter in panic and drop their weapons to escape the heat.
The runway was illuminated like daylight, the blazing fire reflecting off the sleek silver hull of the private jet.
I watched the aircraft door with a terrifying, suffocating anxiety, waiting for Bellamy to emerge.
Suddenly, a loud gunshot echoed from inside the cabin of the jet.
My heart stopped completely.
A few agonizing seconds later, the cabin door was kicked fully open.
Bellamy stood in the doorway, breathing heavily, his suit jacket torn and stained with blood.
He was holding Victor by the collar of his expensive coat, dragging him roughly down the stairs onto the tarmac.
Victor was clutching a bleeding wound in his leg, screaming curses as Bellamy threw him onto the wet concrete.
"It's over, Victor," Bellamy declared, his voice cutting through the crackle of the surrounding flames.
Vivienne and I cautiously emerged from behind the ruined pickup truck, keeping our weapons trained on the remaining, surrendered guards.
Victor looked up at Bellamy, a twisted, desperate sneer on his face.
"You think you won because you stopped me from reaching the vault?" Victor laughed bitterly.
"The real power isn't in those ledgers, nephew. The real power is the money, and it's gone forever."
Bellamy reached into his pocket and pulled out the real gold medallion, letting it dangle in front of Victor's face.
"You never even had the real key, Victor," Bellamy mocked coldly.
Victor stared at the genuine medallion, his arrogant facade finally crumbling into absolute despair.
Police sirens wailed loudly in the distance, rapidly approaching the private airfield.
Bellamy looked at me, a genuine, completely unguarded smile crossing his handsome features.
"You really saved us back there, Clare," he said softly, walking over to stand beside me.
The authorities arrived in massive numbers, quickly securing the airfield and arresting Victor and his surviving mercenaries.
As the paramedics checked Vivienne's grazed shoulder, Bellamy pulled me aside, away from the flashing lights.
"The ledgers in the vault will put Victor away for the rest of his miserable life," Bellamy said, looking down at me.
"And the bakery?" I asked, my mind still reeling from the revelation of my grandmother's hidden fortune.
"The bearer bonds belong to you, Clare. Juliet left them for her family, not the syndicate."
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He gently reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his touch sending a warm shiver down my spine.
"You never have to work another double shift in secondhand heels again."
