Chapter 10 - The Fall of the Patriarch
The wealthy guests screamed and scrambled away as my father slashed the knife toward my face. He was old, but desperation made him fast. I sidestepped the blade, grabbed his arm, and used his own momentum to slam him face-first onto the polished mahogany table. Fine china crashed to the floor.
I pinned his arm behind his back, twisting just enough to let him know I could snap it like a twig. "You want to act like a man, Dad?" I whispered into his ear, echoing his cruel words from the camp. "This is what it looks like."
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder by the second. My mother was weeping in the corner. "Marcus, stop! You're hurting him!"
"He left Leo to die!" I roared, the pent-up agony of those seven days in the freezing wilderness finally exploding. "He left his own blood to starve to death in the dirt!"
The heavy front doors of the estate burst open. Local police flooded the room, their weapons drawn. "Drop the weapon! Let him go!"
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I didn't resist. I released my father, dropped the tire iron, and slowly raised my hands. Arthur gasped for breath, pointing a shaking finger at me. "Arrest him! He tried to kill me!"
The lead officer grabbed me, slapping cold steel cuffs on my wrists. But as they dragged me out, I looked back at the terrified guests. The seed of doubt was planted. The scandal was born. Arthur Thorne was ruined.
