Chapter 2 - Splintered Glass
The metallic click of the safety disengaging resonated clearly over Maya’s muffled whimpers. Julian didn’t wait for the weapon to clear Marco’s pocket. Relying on muscle memory, he slammed his forearm across Marco’s throat, pinning him against the floor-to-ceiling glass that looked out over the private courtyard. Marco wheezed, his fingers slipping from the grip of the compact automatic pistol, allowing it to clatter against the hardwood perimeter bordering the marble tiles.
""Maya, don't look!"" Elena cried out, her trembling voice raspy from being smothered. She struggled to sit up, cradling her seven-month belly with one arm while extending the other toward her daughter. ""Maya, sweetie, come to Mommy! Now!""
The little girl didn’t move. Paralysis had seized her limbs, her wide hazel eyes locked onto the struggling adults. The pristine, clinical perfection of the Ruiz residence was now a war zone of shattered crystal, bruised flesh, and echoing threats.
Julian twisted Marco’s arm behind his back, driving his knee into the man’s lower lumbar to force him down. ""It's over, Marco. The precinct already has the recording from the exterior feed. Your private security won't protect you this time.""
""You naive old bastard,"" Marco hissed through gritted teeth, spitting a speck of blood onto the floor. ""You think this is about a restraining order? Look beneath the floorboards in the master closet, Ross. See whose names are on the offshore shipping manifests. If I go down, Elena's father goes down with me. The entire Ruiz-Vargas empire burns!""
Elena froze, her hand pausing mid-air. Her face drained of what little color remained. ""What... what did you just say?"" she whispered, her voice barely carrying across the vast expanse of the room. ""My father died four years ago.""
Marco chuckled, a low, guttural vibration that made Julian’s skin crawl. ""Did he? Ask your heroic detective here why he never closed the missing persons file. Ask him why he spent the last three years watching our gates every single night.""
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Julian’s grip tightened involuntarily, his knuckles whitening. He did not look at Elena, unable to face the devastating question lingering in her silence. Marco felt the momentary hesitation and seized it. Thrashing violently, he threw his entire weight backward, cracking his skull against Julian’s nose.
The blunt trauma sent Julian reeling back, blinding spots dancing across his vision. Marco rolled over, snatching the dropped firearm from the floor, not aiming at Julian, but turning the barrel directly toward the glass panel where little Maya stood frozen in horror.
