Chapter 15 - The New Sovereign
Vincent looked down at his trembling, scarred hands. The fury that had driven him across oceans, through fire, and back from the grave vanished in a single instant, replaced by the crushing realization that he had built his own executioner. He raised his assault rifle, aiming it squarely at his only child's chest.
""I gave you life,"" Vincent whispered, his finger tightening on the trigger. ""I gave you an empire.""
""And I took it from you,"" Elena answered, not flinching an inch. ""Go ahead, Father. Fire the rifle. Let the guards see if their paychecks come from a ghost or the woman who signs their wires.""
The Vance operators didn't move to protect Vincent. They stood motionless, their loyalty bought and paid for through encrypted accounts only Elena could access. Vincent looked at their stone-faced expressions, then back at Elena’s unwavering, emerald eyes.
Slowly, the barrel of the rifle drifted downward. Vincent let out a long, ragged exhale, the fight draining from his aged frame. He let the weapon drop to the concrete floor with a heavy, hollow thud.
""You are your mother's daughter,"" Vincent said quietly. ""God help this city.""
He turned his back on her, walking slowly into the dark utility tunnel, disappearing into the shadows of the underground without looking back. Elena watched him go, a single tear threatening to spill before she blinked it away into cold steel.
She turned to face the room. Chad and Victoria cowered beneath the forklift. Julian remained locked in his glass cage, waiting for the sirens that were now wailing in the distance above ground.
Elena picked up the silver golf club that one of the guards had carried down from the chapel. She leaned against it lightly, resting her weight on the metal shaft, her posture commanding and absolute.
""Chad,"" Elena said.
Chad scrambled forward on his knees. ""Yes... yes, Elena?""
""Take your mother. Get in the back of the secondary transport,"" she commanded, gesturing toward an unmarked black SUV parked in the adjacent tunnel. ""There is a house in New Zealand under your mother’s maiden name. If I ever see your face in North America again, I will finish what I started in that bridal suite.""
""Thank you... thank you,"" Chad choked out, dragging his mother toward the car.
May you like
Elena turned toward the access ladder leading back up to the street level. Above, the muffled sounds of federal sirens and helicopter blades were circling the cathedral block. The city was in flames, the old dynasties were reduced to ash, and the throne was finally empty.
Elena Vance stepped onto the first rung of the ladder, her diamond-encrusted dress shimmering in the darkness, ready to claim the kingdom she had built with her own bare hands."
