Chapter 9 - SHATTERED ILLUSIONS
Our fragile peace shattered the next morning. Vale, backed into a corner by the damning financial evidence we now possessed, launched a desperate, all-out assault on the estate.
The warning alarms screamed through the hallways. Jax burst into the dining room where Ricardo and I were eating breakfast with Leo. "They breached the front gates. Two dozen men. Heavily armed."
"Get Clara and Leo to the panic room," Ricardo ordered, drawing his weapon. "Lock it down."
"No!" I shouted, grabbing his arm. "Ricardo, Vale doesn't want a bloodbath, he wants the drive! If he kills you, the dead-man's switch releases the ledgers to the feds anyway!"
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"He's acting on desperation, Clara. He isn't thinking clearly," Ricardo said, kissing my forehead. "Hide. I will end this."
I grabbed Leo, pressing his face into my shoulder, and ran behind Jax. The sound of gunfire echoed through the opulent halls of the estate, shattering priceless vases and tearing through the life Ricardo had tried to build.
