Chapter 14 - Reckoning in the Rain"Evelyn, put the baby down!" Mia pleaded, taking a frantic step forward, but Knox immediately raised his rifle, laser sight centering squarely on Mia’s chest.
"Don't take another step, little girl," Knox barked, his finger hovering over the trigger.
Victor slowly stepped between Knox’s rifle and Mia, keeping his hands lifted in a non-threatening position, his sidearm hidden behind his back inside his jacket pocket.
"Evelyn," Victor said, his voice terrifyingly calm and measured. "Knox is using you. Julian’s accounts are gone. The Apex Syndicate collapsed last week. There is no money left to fight for."
"I don't care about the money anymore, Victor!" Evelyn screamed, her voice cracking with hysterical madness as she held Tommy closer to the balcony rail. "This house... this name... my whole life was stolen by this bastard child and his pathetic mother! If I can't have the Sterling name, then the Sterling bloodline ends tonight!"
Evelyn turned toward the balcony edge, preparing to throw herself over the fifty-foot drop with little Tommy in her arms.
"No!" Mia shrieked.
STAT!
A sharp, muted gunshot echoed through the foyer.
Victor didn't aim at Evelyn. He fired a single, blinding flash round directly at the chandelier mounted right above Knox’s head.
The massive crystal structure snapped from its iron chain, crashing down onto Knox in a shower of heavy brass and glass. Knox went down instantly, his rifle skittering across the marble floor.
In the sudden chaos, Evelyn stumbled backward off balance.
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Mia didn't hesitate. She surged up the marble stairs with superhuman speed driven by pure maternal instinct. She lunged across the top landing, snatching baby Tommy from Evelyn’s arms a fraction of a second before Evelyn lost her footing on her torn gown.
Evelyn tumbled backward down the grand marble staircase, crashing onto the cold floor below, where she lay completely motionless.
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