Chapter 9 - Facing the Monster
Marcus let out a ragged cry and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked harmlessly.
Gabriel held up the magazine clip he had stripped from Marcus’s pocket when he had brushed past him in the fog mere seconds ago. He tossed the loaded magazine onto the dirt.
"Pathetic," Gabriel spat.
He closed the distance in two strides, grabbing Marcus by the throat and slamming him against the trunk of a massive oak tree. Marcus kicked and clawed, but Gabriel’s grip was like iron. He dragged Marcus out of the woods and onto the brightly lit front porch of the estate, throwing him down onto the hardwood floor.
The front door opened.
I stepped out onto the porch, wrapped in a warm, thick shawl. Beside me stood Dr. Sarah Jenkins and two state police detectives who had been waiting inside the entire time, watching the perimeter breach on the security monitors.
Marcus looked up from the floor, his face bruised, his clothes covered in mud and sweat. He looked at me—no longer the terrified, helpless victim on the kitchen floor, but a woman standing tall, protected, and unbreakable.
"Elena... please," Marcus whimpered, reaching a trembling hand toward the hem of my dress. "Tell them... tell them I'm your husband. We're having a baby together..."
I looked down at him, feeling a wave of calm wash over me. The fear that had ruled my life for three years was completely gone, replaced by a cold, unwavering strength.
"You stopped being my husband the moment you raised that iron poker," I said clearly, my voice steady and echoing across the quiet property. "And you will never, ever touch my child."
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I nodded to the detectives. They stepped forward, pulling Marcus’s arms behind his back with brutal efficiency and snapping the steel handcuffs shut with a sharp, satisfying click.
"Marcus Vance, you are under arrest for attempted murder, domestic assault, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and federal financial fraud," the lead detective recited as they dragged him down the steps toward the waiting police cruisers. "You have the right to remain silent. I suggest you use it."
