Chapter 15 - Brother Against Brother
On the rain-swept, wind-battered roof of the California Street tower, a sleek black helicopter was descending through the fog, its rotor blades whipping the surrounding potted trees into a frenzy. Standing near the edge of the helipad, his coat flapping wildly in the wind, was Marcus Sterling. He was nervously waiting for the mercenary to deliver the children so they could fly them to an untraceable airstrip in international waters.
The rooftop access door burst open with a resounding crash. The mercenary stumbled out into the wind, carrying Aurora and Stella, both little girls crying hysterically and reaching their tiny arms out toward the doorway.
Before Marcus could even grab his nieces, a terrifying roar echoed over the sound of the helicopter blades. Julian Sterling emerged from the stairwell like a vengeful demon, his tactical jacket torn, his face thunderous with rage.
“Let my daughters go!” Julian screamed, charging across the wet concrete helipad.
The mercenary dropped his hand to his sidearm, but David Vance—who had followed Julian up the stairs—raised his rifle and fired a single precision shot that shattered the mercenary’s radio shoulder clip and sent the man sprawling onto the wet deck in shock.
Marcus Sterling, driven mad by fear and desperate gambling debt, panicked. He grabbed Stella by her arm, pulling the screaming three-year-old toward the open door of the hovering helicopter. “Stay back, Julian! I swear I’ll take her with me! You’ll never see her again!”
Julian didn't slow down. The sight of his brother hurting his child snapped the final thread of restraint in his soul. He launched his entire body through the air, tackling Marcus around his midsection with the force of a freight train.
Both brothers slammed onto the wet concrete of the helipad, rolling dangerously close to the unguarded edge of the seventy-five-story drop. Marcus swung a desperate fist, catching Julian on the cheekbone, but Julian felt no pain. He pinned his younger brother to the ground, his hands locking around Marcus’s lapels as he lifted him up and slammed him back down onto the concrete with earth-shattering force.
“You would sell your own niece to save your pathetic neck?” Julian roared, his fist raised above Marcus’s face, ready to deliver a blow that would shatter his jaw.
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Marcus broke. The arrogant, mocking brother dissolved into a sobbing, pathetic wreck beneath Julian’s weight. “Don't hit me, Julian! Please! I had to! The Macau syndicate told me they would kill Vanessa if I didn't get Mom the money today! Mom made me do it! She’s the one who orchestrated everything!”
Julian lowered his fist, his green eyes filled with nothing but absolute, freezing contempt. He stood up, leaving his brother groveling on the wet roof, and turned around just in time to see Aurora and Stella running across the concrete toward him, their arms open wide.
