Chapter 8 - A Web of Deceit
Julian stepped into the light of the flashlight,
a silver revolver gleaming in his right hand,
his face twisted into a look of absolute triumph.
Behind him stood two large men,
their expressions blank and ruthless,
blocking the only exit from the subterranean vault.
“I must admit,
I underestimated you,
my dear sister-in-law,” Julian said,
gesturing with the gun for Margaret to step away from the desk.
“I didn't think you had the stomach for urban exploration,
but I suppose motherly love makes people do foolish things.”
Margaret moved slowly,
placing herself firmly in front of Leo,
shielding him from the weapon.
“It’s over,
Julian,” Margaret said,
her voice surprisingly calm despite the terror clawing at her throat.
“We heard the tape,
as we know you murdered Daniel,
and this ledger contains enough evidence to put you in prison for the rest of your life.”
Julian laughed,
a low,
sinister sound that echoed off the concrete walls.
“Prison?
Who is going to take it to the police,
Margaret?
You?
The boy?”
“Edward left copies,” she lied,
trying to buy time,
trying to find a way out of the trap.
“He sent them to his lawyers outside the firm,
so if we don't return,
they will be released immediately.”
“Edward was a coward,” Julian spat,
his eyes flashing with sudden rage.
“He spent twenty years crying over his dead son,
paying off that useless girl Clara,
and hiding behind his charity work.”
“He didn't leave any copies,
Margaret,
because he was too terrified of destroying the family name he loved so much.”
Julian walked closer,
the barrel of the gun now pointed directly at Margaret’s forehead.
“Hand over the ledger and the tape,
and I will make sure your deaths are quick and painless,
unlike Daniel’s.”
Leo suddenly moved,
slipping out from behind Margaret before she could stop him,
his young face twisted in a mixture of anger and grief.
“You killed my father!” the boy shouted,
hurling the heavy flashlight directly at Julian’s face.
The flashlight struck Julian squarely in the forehead,
causing him to stumble back with a cry of pain,
his gun firing wildly into the ceiling.
The loud report of the gunshot was deafening in the small space,
shattering the light bulb above and plunging the room into near-total darkness.
“Run,
Leo!” Margaret screamed,
grabbing the ledger and the tape recorder from the desk in the dark.
She grabbed the boy’s hand,
rushing past the confused guards who were cursing and fumbling in the pitch-black room.
They scrambled out of the vault,
running up the concrete stairs as fast as their legs could carry them,
the sound of furious footsteps pursuing them from below.
They burst out into the main foundry floor,
the gray evening light offering a small amount of visibility.
“This way!” Margaret panted,
leading Leo toward the back of the building where the old train tracks exited the structure.
Behind them,
Julian’s voice echoed through the metal rafters,
screaming for his men to kill them on sight.
They ran out into the pouring rain,
slipping on the wet gravel of the tracks,
their lungs burning with the effort.
Margaret looked back and saw one of the guards emerging from the building,
raising a weapon to aim at them.
Suddenly,
the loud blare of a horn shattered the air,
and a massive freight train came roaring down the tracks,
cutting off the guard’s line of sight.
Without thinking,
Margaret pulled Leo down into a deep drainage ditch beside the tracks,
holding him close as the massive steel train rushed past just feet away.
The deafening roar of the train covered their movements,
May you like
allowing them to crawl through the mud and escape into the dark,
welcoming shadows of the docks.
