Chapter 15 - The Mother's Fall—The Syringe
The wooden door smashed into the wall.
I stepped into the opulent library, raising my pistol. Julian stepped in right behind me, leveling his rifle.
Eleanor was standing by the fireplace, watching two mercenaries load heavy black server drives into aluminum cases. Sitting on the leather sofa, terrified and clutching each other, were Ellie and Leo.
A third mercenary was walking toward them, holding a medical syringe.
“Drop the needle or I blow your head off,” I screamed.
The mercenary froze.
Eleanor turned around, completely unfazed by the guns pointed at her. She looked at Julian, a cold, disappointed smirk crossing her lips.
“Julian. You survived. I must admit, I underestimated your buoyancy.”
“Hello, Mother,” Julian sneered, his finger resting on the trigger. “Did you enjoy your nap in Switzerland?”
“It was necessary to weed out the weak,” Eleanor said smoothly. “And you and Silas proved to be incredibly weak. Now, put the guns down. You’re outnumbered.”
As she spoke, six more mercenaries poured into the library from the hallway, aiming laser-sighted rifles at Julian and me.
“Let the children go, Mom,” I demanded, keeping my gun aimed directly at her chest.
“They are the future of this family, Mara,” Eleanor said, stepping behind one of the mercenaries. “You are just the incubator. Kill them both.”
“Wait!” Julian shouted.
Julian reached into his wet coat and pulled out a small, blinking detonator.
“Before Silas died, he wasn't the only one rigging explosives,” Julian smiled a manic, terrifying grin. “I lined the entire perimeter of this mansion with C4 three years ago, preparing for a war with Silas. The servers, the jet, everything burns if my thumb comes off this button.”
The mercenaries hesitated, glancing nervously at Eleanor.
Eleanor’s eyes narrowed. She knew Julian was crazy enough to do it.
“What do you want, Julian?” Eleanor hissed.
“I want the servers,” Julian said. “I take the network. Mara takes the kids. You walk away with nothing.”
Eleanor laughed softly. “You always were a fool, Julian.”
She nodded to the mercenary holding the syringe near the children.
Before I could react, the mercenary didn't inject the children. He lunged forward and plunged the syringe directly into Ellie’s arm.
“No!” I screamed, firing my gun. The mercenary dropped, but the plunger was already empty.
Ellie gasped, her eyes rolling back as she collapsed onto the sofa.
“It’s a highly concentrated neurotoxin,” Eleanor said coldly, backing toward the secret passage behind the fireplace. “It stops the heart in exactly ten minutes. The only antidote is on the jet.”
Julian raised his rifle to shoot her, but Eleanor hit a hidden switch. The fireplace wall spun around, swallowing her into the darkness before the bullets could hit her.
“She’s heading for the runway!” Julian yelled, bolting after the servers being carried by the remaining mercenaries.
I didn't care about Eleanor. I didn't care about the servers.
I threw my gun down and ran to the sofa, scooping Ellie’s limp body into my arms while Leo cried beside me.
Her skin was already turning gray. Her breathing was terrifyingly shallow.
“Ellie! Stay with me, baby!” I sobbed.
Ten minutes. I had ten minutes to catch a jet.
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