Chapter 7 - THE WATCH
The cartel boss’s cigar exploded from his mouth as the sniper bullet shattered the engine block of the SUV behind him. Steam and oil erupted into the air with a violent hiss.
The two armed men froze in sheer panic, looking wildly for the shooter.
“Drop the weapons!” Marcus’s voice boomed over a hidden megaphone from the rusted crane tower above us. “You have three laser sights on your chests. Drop them now, or you leave this railyard in bags!”
The cartel men, realizing they were completely outmatched, slowly lowered their rifles and kicked them away. The boss stood completely still, his smug arrogance replaced by stark terror.
I walked forward, my heart pounding a steady, furious rhythm against my ribs. I didn't look at the boss. I walked straight to my mother and sister, who were huddled on the gravel, weeping.
I grabbed a pocket knife and cut the zip ties binding their wrists.
Chloe threw her arms around my legs, sobbing uncontrollably. “Julian, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I thought they were going to kill us!”
Evelyn couldn't even speak. She just looked at me, her eyes wide with shock and profound shame. She had spent the last five months trying to destroy my life, and I had just risked everything to save hers.
“Get in the car,” I said to them, my voice devoid of any warmth.
I turned and walked over to the cartel boss, who was currently being held at gunpoint by Marcus, who had descended from the tower.
I bent down and picked up the red folder full of bearer bonds from the dirt. I dusted it off and put it back inside my coat.
“What are you doing?” the boss stammered, sweating profusely. “You paid the debt!”
“I brought the money to prove I could,” I said coldly. “But you just ordered the execution of my family. The deal is off.”
Answer One: I never intended to let them keep the money. I used it as bait to get Evelyn and Chloe out in the open where Marcus’s team could secure them.
But Open Two: How was I going to stop the cartel from coming back for revenge?
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a heavy, gold pocket watch. It had been my father’s. I held it up so the cartel boss could see it.
“Do you know who owns the shipping company that imports eighty percent of your casino equipment from overseas?” I asked softly.
The boss narrowed his eyes, confused.
“I do,” I said, clicking the gold watch open. “And do you know who leases the warehouses on the docks where you store your illegal cash?”
The blood drained from the man’s face as realization set in.
Because of my medical distribution network, my company controlled massive swaths of commercial real estate and shipping lanes across Texas.
“If you ever come near my sister, my mother, or my wife again,” I whispered, leaning in close, “I won’t send men with guns. I will completely dismantle your logistics network. I will freeze your shipments, tip off the DEA to your warehouses, and bankrupt your entire syndicate in a week. Do you understand me?”
The boss swallowed hard, looking at the laser dot resting directly over his heart.
“Yes,” he rasped.
“Good. Now take your broken car and walk home.”
I turned my back on him and walked to the armored vehicle Marcus had waiting.
The ride back to Austin was deathly silent. Evelyn and Chloe sat in the back seat, staring blankly at the floor. They had survived, but they both knew their lives were about to change forever.
When we arrived back at my estate, the shattered front doors had already been temporarily boarded up by my security team.
I led Evelyn and Chloe into the living room.
Madison was already there, waiting. When she saw them, she didn't gloat. She didn't look angry. She just looked incredibly tired.
Evelyn couldn't look at Madison. She kept her eyes firmly on the floor.
“Sit down,” I commanded my mother and sister.
They sat on the edge of the sofa, looking like scolded children.
“The debt is cleared,” I said, pacing in front of them. “The cartel will never bother you again. But your time in this family is over.”
Chloe started to cry again. “Julian, please. I’ll go to rehab. I’ll stop gambling.”
“You will go to rehab,” I agreed, my voice hard. “I have already arranged a flight to a closed facility in Arizona. You leave tonight. You will stay there for six months. When you get out, you will find a job, and you will support yourself. You are cut off from the family accounts permanently.”
Chloe nodded frantically, tears streaming down her bruised face. She was just grateful to be alive.
Then, I turned to my mother.
Evelyn finally looked up at me. Her face was hollow.
“And what about me, Julian?” she asked softly. “Are you sending me away too?”
“You,” I said, pulling the forged deed transfer out of my briefcase and dropping it on the coffee table in front of her. “You are going to pack your bags. I bought a small, two-bedroom condo in Dallas this afternoon. It’s paid for. But you will never set foot in my house, my company, or my life ever again.”
Evelyn gasped, clutching her chest. “Julian! I am your mother! You can't just banish me! Who will take care of me?”
“You should have thought about that before you tried to steal my wife’s home and force her into a maid’s quarters,” I said, my voice rising in righteous anger. “You abused the woman I love. You tried to force her to run away because you were terrified I would find out about my own child.”
Evelyn’s eyes darted to Madison, her face crumbling in absolute defeat.
“Julian, I was trying to protect the legacy…”
“You were trying to protect your own control!” I roared, silencing her. “Pack your things, Evelyn. A driver is waiting outside.”
As Evelyn slowly stood up, broken and sobbing, she walked past Madison.
For a moment, she stopped.
“I’m sorry,” Evelyn whispered to my wife. It was the first honest thing my mother had said in months.
Madison didn't reply. She just turned away.
An hour later, the house was empty.
It was just Madison and me, standing in the quiet ruins of our foyer.
May you like
The threat was gone. The toxic poison had been cut out.
But as I looked at my wife, I knew that banishing my mother wasn't enough to fix the damage I had caused by being absent.
