Chapter 7 - THE WOODEN ROSARY
“Put the gun down, Sofia,” Julian ordered, trying to sound authoritative, but a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
His two soldiers hesitated, unsure of who to aim at now.
“Shoot her!” Julian screamed at them.
Before they could move, Adrian acted.
With Lightning speed, Adrian kicked the heavy dining table forward. It crashed into the two soldiers, pinning them against the wall and knocking their weapons to the floor.
Julian swung his gun toward Adrian, but Sofia fired.
The gunshot deafened the room.
The bullet grazed Julian’s shoulder. He cried out in pain, dropping his weapon and clutching his bleeding arm.
Adrian was on him in a second.
He tackled his former best friend to the hardwood floor, delivering a brutal punch to Julian’s jaw that knocked him completely unconscious.
The room descended into a heavy, panting silence.
Adrian stood up, his chest heaving. He looked at his bleeding knuckles, then down at the man who had betrayed our family for a decade.
He walked over to the two soldiers pinned behind the table.
“You work for me now,” Adrian said in a low, dangerous voice. “Or you don't leave this room alive.”
The soldiers nodded frantically.
“Take him to the basement,” Adrian ordered, pointing at Julian. “Tie him to the chair. Do not let him wake up comfortably.”
The men scrambled to drag Julian’s unconscious body out of the room.
I rushed over to Sofia.
She was shaking violently, the revolver still in her hand.
I gently took the gun from her fingers and placed it on the table. Then, I wrapped my arms around her.
“You saved our lives, Sofia,” I whispered.
She sobbed into my shoulder. “I just wanted justice for Tomas. I've been working here for six months, waiting for him to slip up.”
Adrian walked over to us.
He looked at Sofia with a newfound respect.
“You have my word, Sofia,” Adrian said. “Justice is served today.”
Then, Adrian turned his attention to Victoria.
She was still on the floor, frantically searching through her spilled purse. Her hands were shaking so badly she couldn't grip anything.
“What are you doing?” Adrian asked gently.
Victoria pulled a crumpled piece of paper from the bottom of her purse.
She smoothed it out on the floor.
It was a child's drawing.
A stick figure of a woman holding hands with a little boy.
“He’s going to kill Leo,” Victoria sobbed, pressing the drawing to her chest. “Julian set up a dead man’s switch. If he doesn't check in with his men upstate by midnight, they have orders to hurt my baby.”
She looked at the grandfather clock in the hallway.
It was 10:45 PM.
“Adrian, please,” Victoria begged, crawling toward him and grabbing his pant leg. “I don't care what you do to me. Send me to prison. Kill me. Just please, save my son.”
Adrian looked down at the woman who had made my life miserable.
The woman who had lied to him for a year.
He looked at me.
I didn't hesitate. I nodded.
“Get up,” Adrian told Victoria.
May you like
He pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Where is the facility?” Adrian asked.
