Chapter 13 - Blood Against Blood
Elena leveled her firearm directly at her father’s chest. ""Step away from the case, Arthur.""
Arthur sighed, adjusting the cuffs of his expensive shirt as if he were merely disciplining an unruly child at dinner. ""You're still calling me Arthur. That hurts, Elena. After everything I did to ensure your survival.""
""You sent a death squad to my apartment!"" she yelled, her finger steady on the trigger. ""Keller was ordered to shoot on sight!""
""Keller was a test!"" Arthur barked, his calm demeanor slipping to reveal the cold megalomaniac beneath. ""If you couldn't survive six third-rate federal operators, you were of no use to me! You wouldn't have survived the world I am building! But you did. You beat Keller. You outsmarted him. You tracked me here. You proved that my blood runs pure in your veins.""
""I am nothing like you,"" Elena said, stepping closer, the barrel of her weapon never wavering. ""You destroyed our family. You used Julian as a shield. You let Eleanor rot in her pathetic delusion of prestige.""
""Julian was weak!"" Arthur snarled, slamming his fist onto the titanium case. ""He had all the cruelty of power with none of the vision! He hit you over a dinner table because his fragile ego was bruised! I don't build empires with men like Julian. I build them with survivors. With people who can bleed and keep walking.""
He pointed toward the titanium case.
""Inside this box is the complete financial architecture of fourteen foreign states. We don't need the Vance name anymore. We don't need this pathetic country. The yacht will clear the harbor in five minutes. Come with me. Be my heir. Take everything you are owed.""
Elena stared at him, seeing through the charisma, through the paternal mask, to the hollow monster who had traded human lives like currency for three decades.
""I already have what I'm owed,"" Elena said.
A floorboard creaked behind her.
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Elena caught the movement in the reflection of the glass cabinet. Keller was stepping through the cabin door, a suppressed pistol raised to the back of her head.
""Drop it, Agent Vance,"" Keller sneered.
