Chapter 4 - The Vanishing Ghost
""Step away from the balcony!"" Julian shouted, bringing the barrel of the pistol directly in line with the intruder's chest. ""Hands where I can see them!""
The man didn't flinch. His eyes, visible above the dark woolen scarf, were sunken and bloodshot, filled with a manic, unhinged calm. ""A father always protects his own, doesn't he? But whose child are you protecting, Julian?""
Julian squeezed the trigger. The gunshot was deafening in the enclosed space, shattering the glass pane of the French door into a glittering cascade. But in that split second, the man leaned backward and threw himself over the stone balustrade.
Julian lunged forward, ignoring the shards of glass tearing through his dress shirt. He reached the edge and looked down over the fifty-foot drop to the courtyard below.
There was no body.
Only the manicured hedges and the wet flagstones. A trail of dripping red drops led from the base of the ivy trellis toward the labyrinthine rose gardens at the rear of the estate. The fall should have broken both the man's legs, yet he had vanished into the morning mist with terrifying speed.
A sudden sound from behind him made Julian spin around. Elena was leaning against the shattered frame of the nursery door, holding a steaming mug of black coffee, completely unfazed by the gunshot. A fresh cigarette dangled between her bruised lips.
""He's fast for a dead man, isn't he?"" she said, blowing a thin plume of smoke toward the ceiling. ""Michael always did know how to survive.""
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""Who is he?"" Julian snarled, striding toward her, his weapon still raised. ""He has Clara's eyes. Who is he, Elena?""
Elena took a slow sip of her coffee, her bruised face settling into an expression of profound malice. ""He's not Clara's brother, Julian. He's the man she was running from when she met you.""
