Chapter 4 - The Siege Begins
Marcus stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
He glared at Julia with pure, unadulterated hatred.
“You’re going to regret that, you crazy old woman,” he hissed.
He grabbed his fallen gun with his good hand and scrambled back into the black SUV.
Steven stood frozen in the driveway, looking completely terrified.
“Get in the car, Steven!” Marcus yelled from the driver’s seat.
My brother looked at me, then at Julia, his face pale with fear.
“I’m sorry, Clara,” Steven whispered.
He ran to the passenger side and jumped in as the SUV sped away down the gravel road.
Julia lowered the rifle, her breathing heavy and ragged.
I rushed over to her, grabbing her arm.
“Are you okay?” I asked frantically.
“I’m fine,” she replied, her eyes locked on the cloud of dust left by the vehicle.
“But they are going to come back with more men.”
Mom came rushing down the stairs, tying her robe tightly around her waist.
“What was that noise?” she asked, panicking.
“Did someone fire a gun?”
“Marcus Vance was just here,” I told her.
“He tried to kill me, and Julia shot him.”
Mom’s face drained of all color, and she grabbed the banister for support.
“Oh my god,” she breathed out.
“Richard’s son is just like his father.”
“We need to call the police right now,” I said, pulling out my cell phone.
Julia grabbed my wrist, shaking her head firmly.
“No police, Clara.”
“The local sheriff has been on Vanguard Development’s payroll for thirty years.”
“If you call them, they will arrest me for shooting Marcus, and then you’ll be left completely defenseless.”
I stared at my phone, realizing how isolated we truly were.
The farm was ten miles outside of town, surrounded by dense woods and swamp.
If Vanguard sent a team of professionals, nobody would hear us screaming.
“What do we do?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“We fortify the house,” Julia instructed with military precision.
“Mary, go lock every door and window on the ground floor.”
“Clara, I need you to help me move the heavy furniture in front of the entryways.”
For the next two hours, we worked frantically to turn the old farmhouse into a fortress.
We pushed heavy oak dressers and bookshelves in front of the doors.
We pulled the thick blackout curtains closed and turned off all the lights.
Julia handed me a heavy iron fire poker from the living room fireplace.
“Keep this close,” she advised.
“I only have five rounds left in this hunting rifle.”
I gripped the cold iron, my knuckles turning white.
“Why does Marcus want this land so badly?” I asked.
“It’s just an old farm.”
Julia sighed, sitting on the edge of the sofa.
“It’s not about the farm, Clara.”
“It’s about what is buried underneath the old barn out back.”
My eyes widened in shock.
“What is buried out there?”
“Forty years ago, Richard Vance used this property to dispose of toxic chemical waste from his early factories.”
“Your adopted father let him do it for extra cash.”
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“If the Environmental Protection Agency tests this soil, Vanguard Development will face billions in fines and criminal charges.”
“They have to buy the land to cover up the crime permanently.”
