Chapter 8 - The Ghost of the House
Dante raised his pistol instantly, the barrel leveled squarely between the woman’s eyes. His heart pounded against his ribs, not with fear, but with the profound shock of seeing the dead resurrect before him.
""Don't shoot, Dante,"" Evelyn said quietly, not moving a muscle. She didn't raise her weapon. ""You'll waste the only chance Clara has to survive the next forty minutes.""
""You died in Bucharest,"" Dante said, his voice flat, icy, and lethal. ""I identified your dental records. I carried your casket.""
""Julian arranged those records,"" Evelyn replied, her gaze shifting tenderly to the pale, feverish child in Dante’s arms. Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back with iron discipline. ""Julian wanted me out of the picture so he could isolate Clara. Look at her, Dante. You think Julian wants her dead? He doesn't. He wants her poisoned just enough to incapacitate you, so he can claim sole legal guardianship of the Sterling trust.""
""He sent death squads into her nursery,"" Dante snarled. ""He murdered Atlas with a neurotoxin needle.""
At the mention of the dog, Evelyn’s composure cracked. Her jaw tightened, and she looked down at the concrete floor. ""Atlas knew. When Julian broke into the vault two nights ago to steal the family succession documents, Atlas caught him. Atlas bit him to the bone. Julian only survived because he jabbed the hound with the venom extract he prepared for you. Atlas crawled back to the foyer to die at Clara's door. That dog gave his life warning you.""
""Why didn't you come forward sooner?"" Dante demanded, his finger still curled around the trigger.
""Because Julian had me locked in a black site in Marseilles until forty-eight hours ago,"" Evelyn said, standing up slowly and holding out a glass vial filled with an amber liquid. ""I broke out when I heard his plans were accelerating. That's the counter-agent, Dante. Synthesized from the same Russian venom strain Julian purchased. Give it to her. Please.""
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Dante looked at the vial, then at Clara’s pale face. He lowered the gun, stepped forward, and snatched the vial. But as he uncapped the needle, the water behind them in the canal exploded with white foam.
A high-speed interceptor vessel slammed against the dock, searchlights blinding them instantly.
