Chapter 9 - THE FALL OF VANCE
The sudden atmospheric pressure drop dragged Bianca half-way out of the shattered opening!
She dangled eighty stories above the neon-lit city streets of downtown Boston, her fingers barely catching the sharp, jagged edge of the aluminum window frame. Her screaming was swallowed by the roaring wind and torrential rain pouring into the penthouse.
"JULIAN! HELP ME!" Bianca shrieked, her expensive silk suit soaking wet, her grip slipping on the bloodied glass edge. "JULIAN! DON'T LET ME FALL!"
The tactical team hesitated, fighting against the powerful wind tunnel blowing through the room.
I looked at the woman who had stolen three years of my life, the woman who had buried the love of my life beneath floorboards, the woman who had murdered my father in cold blood.
"Julian..." Evelyn whispered from behind me, her hand holding mine tight.
I didn't hesitate. Despite everything she had done, I couldn't let my own sister drop into the abyss before my eyes.
I sprinted toward the shattered window frame, sliding across the wet marble floor, and lunged out into the storm, grabbing Bianca by both wrists just as her right hand slipped off the sharp metal track.
The sheer weight of her body nearly pulled me over the edge into the eighty-story drop. Wind roared in my ears like a jet engine; rain blinded my eyes.
"I've got you!" I yelled, my muscles straining, my feet braced against the bolted steel structural beams of the floor.
Bianca looked up at me, her eyes wide with absolute, terrifying realization. "Julian... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
"Pull!" Eleanor shouted as three tactical officers slid down beside me, grabbing my belt and shoulders.
With a joint heave, we dragged Bianca back through the shattered window frame, slamming her down onto the wet carpet of the auditorium.
The agents instantly pinned her arms behind her back, snapping heavy titanium handcuffs around her wrists.
Bianca lay on the floor, gasping for air, sobbing uncontrollably as she was lifted to her feet. Special Agent Miller formally read her rights:
"Bianca Vance, you are under arrest for first-degree murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, corporate fraud, and racketeering. You have the right to remain silent..."
As they marched Bianca past us toward the private service elevators, she stopped for a brief moment. She looked at Evelyn—the woman she had thought was dead and buried—standing tall and free beside me.
Bianca opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She lowered her head in total defeat and was led away into the shadows of the corridor, never to see the daylight of freedom again.
Eleanor stepped up to us, putting her hands on our shoulders.
"The building is secure," Eleanor said, a slight smile touching her tired face. "The federal court has issued an emergency injunction freezing all Apex accounts. Vance Global is officially back under your control, Julian."
I looked down at Evelyn. The storm wind was blowing her dark hair across her face, but for the first time in three years, the darkness in her eyes was completely gone.
"Let's go home," I whispered to her.
May you like
"Not to the manor," Evelyn said softly, leaning her cheek against my chest. "Somewhere new. Somewhere with windows everywhere."
"Everywhere," I promised.
