Chapter 18 - The Price of an Heir
"You killed our father," Daniel realized with horrifying clarity, the missing pieces of a twenty-year puzzle locking together. "His heart attack... the offshore shell companies... you orchestrated it all."
"Father was a sentimental fool," Julian said dismissively, walking past Daniel as if the younger man were nothing more than an insolent butler. He ran a gloved finger along the marble island. "He wanted to leave half the trust to an orphanage foundation. Can you imagine? Forty billion dollars, squandered on peasants. Eleanor knew what had to be done. We poisoned his scotch for six months with digitalis. Undetectable. Beautiful."
Vanessa let out a low, breathless giggle from behind him. "And then Danny married a peasant of his own! History repeating itself, Julian. She brought a rat into the bloodline!"
"Where is she, Daniel?" Julian asked, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper. "Where is the child? Give her to us, and I will allow you to live. You can spend the rest of your days in an asylum, just like Vanessa did. A fair trade, don't you think?"
Daniel gripped the knife tighter, his body trembling with volcanic fury. "You will have to butcher me down to the bone before you lay a finger on my daughter."
Julian sighed deeply, shaking his head with faux regret. "Such cinematic nonsense. Vanessa, dear... please show our brother why his courage is utterly useless."
Vanessa stepped forward, pulling a remote monitor from her coat pocket. She clicked a switch and turned the screen toward Daniel.
Daniel’s heart stopped.
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The screen showed the inside of the wine cellar. A tiny red laser dot rested directly in the center of Emily’s forehead as she huddled in the corner, clutching baby Lily against her chest. Above her, through the emergency ventilation duct, the muzzle of an assault rifle protruded into the darkness.
"One click, Danny," Vanessa smiled, her teeth bared like a hyena’s. "And your little family becomes paint on the cellar walls."
