Chapter 4 - Broken Knees
Julian moved with desperate, feral speed, his eyes wide and bloodshot as the silver blade caught the harsh emergency lighting. ""I’ll kill you! I’ll carve that smug look off your face!""
Elena did not even take a step back. She didn't flinch.
Before Julian could close half the distance, Leon vanished from his spot and reappeared directly in Julian's trajectory. A sickening crack shattered the tense air as Leon’s left palm struck Julian’s wrist upward, dislocating the joint instantly. The silver blade flew harmlessly into the air, impaling the roasted pheasant on the banquet table.
Julian opened his mouth to shriek in agony, but Leon’s right hand clamped like an iron vise around Julian’s throat, cutting off his airway. With brutal, calculated efficiency, Leon drove the heel of his boot into the back of Julian’s left knee.
A loud, wet crunch echoed through the hall.
Julian collapsed to the marble floor with a muffled wail of pure agony, his kneecap crushed, forced into a posture of absolute submission right at Elena’s feet.
""Julian!"" Victoria shrieked, dropping to her knees beside him, her hands hovering helplessly over his broken leg. ""You monsters! You broke his leg! We will have you executed! The Chief of Police is my second cousin!""
""Your second cousin was arrested twenty minutes ago by federal marshals for accepting eighty million dollars in Sterling cartel bribes,"" Elena replied smoothly, stepping around Julian’s twitching body.
She paused, looking down at her husband as he wheezed, tears of humiliation and excruciating pain streaming down his cheeks.
""You always demanded that I look at you when you spoke to me, Julian,"" Elena whispered, tilting her head. ""Why aren't you looking up now?""
Julian clutched his shattered knee, shivering violently. ""Elena... please... we can talk about this. I was drunk... the pressure was too much... please, we are married! Think of our vows!""
""Our vows?"" Elena gave a soft, mirthless laugh that chilled every guest in the room to the bone. ""You broke those vows the first week when you brought your mistresses to our penthouse. You broke them every time your mother threw her dirty laundry at my face and called me a charity case. You broke them when you raised your hand against me tonight.""
She turned to Leon. ""Clear the guests. Escort Mr. Sterling and his mother to the curb. Leave their luggage on the street.""
""Right away, Chairwoman,"" Leon bowed.
Elena pulled her cashmere coat tightly around her shoulders and began walking toward the grand exit.
As she reached the shattered mahogany threshold, Leon's tactical radio hissed with static.
""Commander Leon, come in. This is Perimeter Scout Alpha. We have a code black outside the gates. An unauthorized convoy of blacked-out sedans has just surrounded the perimeter. They aren't ours.""
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Elena stopped dead in her tracks.
Through the pouring rain beyond the shattered doors, three red laser dots swept across the red carpet, locking steadily onto Elena’s chest.
