Chapter 4 - The Vanishing Heir
""Put her down, Julian,"" Eleanor said, her voice dropping all pretense of gentility, replaced by a venomous, brittle calm. ""Put her down, or I’ll finish what I started before you ruined everything.""
Julian didn't lower Clara. He held the shivering girl tighter against his chest, feeling the frantic flutter of her heartbeat against his ribs. ""You were never just after the Vance estate, were you?"" Julian asked, his voice steady despite the barrel leveled at them. ""Clara didn't catch you stealing money. She caught you copying the biometric keys to my late brother's archives.""
Eleanor’s lips curled into a bitter, triumphant smile. ""Your brother was a fool, just like you. He thought he could bury the truth about the clinical trials in South America. But that data is worth fifty million dollars to the right buyers. Clara walked into my suite while the drive was downloading.""
""She’s an innocent girl, Eleanor,"" Julian growled, stepping forward half an inch.
""There are no innocents in your family!"" Eleanor shrieked, her finger tightening on the trigger.
Before she could pull it, Clara summoned an ounce of hidden strength. She kicked out with her heavy, waterlogged boot, striking Eleanor’s wrist. The gun went off with an ear-splitting crack, the bullet chipping concrete inches from Julian's head.
Julian didn't hesitate. Pivoting his weight, he drove his heavy shoulder directly into Eleanor, knocking her hard against the steel doorframe. The revolver clattered across the floor, falling directly down an open drainage grate. Eleanor slumped against the wall, dazed and clutching her forehead.
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Julian swiped his private keycard across the elevator scanner. The doors hissed open. He stepped inside with Clara and hit the button for the subterranean transit tunnel. But just as the heavy doors began to slide shut, Eleanor looked up through the blood trickling into her eyes and smiled.
""You think you won, Julian?"" she rasped. ""Check your father's house. It's already burning.""
