Chapter 8 - The Price of Treason
The glass shattered into a thousand jagged pieces under Marcus's weight. He groaned, spitting blood and shattered teeth, scrambling desperately on his stomach to reach for his dropped knife.
Julian walked out of the panic room slowly, deliberately. His white dress shirt was torn, stained with black soot and bright red blood, his dark hair falling wildly over his forehead. His eyes were entirely black, void of any human mercy.
He stepped on Marcus’s outstretched hand, the heavy heel of his dress shoe coming down with immense force, shattering the small bones in his brother's fingers. Marcus shrieked in agony, rolling onto his back, clutching his crushed hand to his chest.
""Julian... Julian, please!"" Marcus sobbed, his bravado completely disintegrating into pathetic groveling. ""I’m your brother! Blood! We share the same blood!""
Julian knelt beside him, leaning in so close that Marcus could feel the searing heat of his breath.
""Blood didn't stop you from putting a knife to the mother of my child,"" Julian whispered, his voice dangerously soft. ""Blood didn't stop you from selling an unborn infant to a dying mafia patriarch like cattle.""
""It was business! You took everything from me! Father gave you the entire syndicate!"" Marcus cried out, tears mixing with the blood on his battered face. ""I had nothing!""
""You had my protection,"" Julian said, drawing his backup revolver from his ankle holster. ""You had a life of luxury men die for every day in this city. But you wanted what was mine.""
""Julian, please don't—""
Julian pressed the cold steel barrel against Marcus’s forehead. ""You made your choice eight months ago when you terrified the only woman I ever loved. Say goodbye to the Bell empire, Marcus.""
Before Julian could pull the trigger, a weak, desperate cry echoed from inside the panic room.
It wasn't Harper’s voice.
It was the thin, wailing cry of a newborn baby.
Julian’s finger froze on the trigger. His heart, which had been beating with the cold precision of a predator, skipped a beat. The fragile, beautiful sound of new life cut through the violence, slicing through his vengeance like a blade of light.
Dr. Chen stumbled into the doorway, clutching his bleeding arm with a towel, but smiling through pale lips. ""Julian... it’s a boy. He's breathing. He's here.""
Julian looked down at Marcus. The urge to pull the trigger was overwhelming, but looking at his brother's pathetic, broken form, Julian realized that executing him in front of his newborn son would forever stain the air of the room where his child took his first breath.
""You aren't worth the bullet,"" Julian murmured coldly.
May you like
He brought the heavy butt of the revolver down against Marcus’s temple with brutal force, knocking him instantly unconscious.
Julian stood up, tossed the weapon onto the couch, and turned his back on his brother forever. He walked toward the panic room, his hands trembling for the first time in his life.
