Chapter 14 - The Final Reckoning
Julian’s eyes widened as he realized she wasn't bluffing. ""Shoot her!"" he screamed to his guards.
Before the mercenaries could swing their barrels upward, Alexander lunged across the wet boulders, tackling the first bodyguard into the freezing surf. The impact sent both men tumbling into the deep churn of the Atlantic.
Clara pulled the trigger.
The flare gun kicked violently. A blinding streak of scarlet fire screamed through the dawn air, piercing straight into the open fuel hatch of the patrol cutter.
The boat exploded into a colossal fireball. A shockwave of heat and shattered fiberglass swept across the reef, knocking Julian off his feet. The second bodyguard was thrown into the rocks, knocked unconscious instantly.
Alexander surfaced from the churning water, hauling himself back onto the ledge. He ignored the burning debris raining around them and walked straight toward Julian Thorne.
Julian was crawling across the bloodstained rock, his rifle lost in the sea, his face blackened by soot. He looked up, coughing wildly, terror finally piercing his aristocratic veneer.
""Alexander... wait,"" Julian stammered, raising a trembling hand. ""We can settle this. I have accounts in Panama that Eleanor never knew about... hundreds of millions...""
Alexander stopped, looking down at the man who had ordered the murder of his wife and hunted his infant daughter. His eyes were devoid of anger, replaced only by total, chilling finality.
""My wife’s name was Eleanor Vance,"" Alexander said softly.
Alexander kicked the remaining sidearm out of Julian’s reach, then turned as the distant, rhythmic thunder of twin-rotor helicopters echoed across the sky.
Three black-and-gold aircraft bearing the official insignia of the United States Coast Guard and Federal Marshals broke through the morning clouds, sirens wailing across the bay.
Clara climbed down from the ledge, holding Lily wrapped in dry canvas. The baby was silent, her wide hazel eyes watching the flames reflect on the water.
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Alexander walked over to Clara, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. Clara leaned into his warmth, exhaling a breath she had held for a lifetime.
Julian Thorne stared up at them from the cold rock, broken, ruined, and completely abandoned, as the law closed in around him.
