Chapter 8 - The Desperate StrikeMy blood ran cold. "Bail? Who could possibly post bail for Daniel? All his assets were frozen!"
"An international shell company registered in Panama," Arthur said, his face grave. "We suspect leftover contacts from the Apex Group or rogue investors who want to use Daniel to strike at your father before the federal trials begin. Daniel has gone off the grid. He skipped his electronic monitoring check-in twenty minutes ago."
Panic, sharp and immediate, flared in my chest. "Lily. Where is Lily?!"
"She is entirely safe at the Mercer estate," Arthur reassured me quickly. "Your father placed the property on level-one tactical lockdown the moment Daniel’s bail was posted. No one gets in or out without military-grade clearance."
"Drive us home. Now!" I ordered the driver.
The Mercedes sped through the city streets toward the Mercer estate. My heart hammered against my ribs with every passing second. Daniel was bankrupt, facing decades in prison, and his mother was locked away forever. A man with nothing left to lose was the most dangerous creature on earth.
By the time we reached the iron gates of the Mercer estate, heavy rain had begun to pour, slicking the long winding driveway.
As our car pulled up to the front entrance, the heavy wooden doors of the mansion were wide open.
"Stay in the car, Miss Mercer!" Arthur yelled, reaching for his phone to call local law enforcement.
I didn't listen. Maternal instinct wiped away all fear, all caution, and all reason. I pushed open the car door and ran straight through the pouring rain into the grand foyer.
"Father! Lily!" I screamed, my voice echoing through the vast house.
The foyer was dead quiet. Moving quickly toward the main living salon, I heard the sound of heavy breathing and a raspy, unhinged laugh.
I rounded the corner into the library.
My father was standing near his desk, his hands raised slowly. Two private security guards lay unconscious near the doorway.
Standing near the floor-to-ceiling windows, soaked in rainwater, wild-eyed and holding a heavy revolver, was Daniel Hale.
And in his left arm, wrapped in a blanket, was my four-month-old daughter, Lily.
"Daniel!" I shrieked, taking a desperate step forward.
"Stay back, Emma!" Daniel screamed, pointing the gun wildly between my father and me. His suit was muddy, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was shaking uncontrollably with manic, desperate energy. "One more step and I swear to God I’ll end this whole family right here!"
"Daniel, put the baby down," my father said, his voice forced into a calm, steady rhythm despite the sheer terror in his eyes. "You're surrounded. The police are already on their way. If you hurt that child, you will never leave this property alive."
"I'm already dead!" Daniel laughed hysterically, a terrifying, cracked sound. "You ruined my life! You put my mother in prison! You took my company! You made me a laughingstock across the entire country!"
"You ruined yourself, Daniel," I said, stepping slowly into his line of sight, forcing my voice to remain soft, gentle, and non-threatening. "You chose to steal. You chose to abuse me. You chose to betray everyone who trusted you."
"Shut up! Shut up!" Daniel yelled, pressing the gun closer to his side, though he kept Lily cradled against his chest. "I brought you into my house! I gave you a name! You were supposed to be my obedient little wife! But you were playing me the whole time!"
"I loved you, Daniel," I lied gently, taking one slow, deliberate step closer. "When I married you, I didn't care about money. I didn't care about power. I just wanted a family. You had everything... and you threw it away for greed."
Daniel’s hand holding the gun wobbled slightly. For a fraction of a second, confusion and regret flashed across his frantic face. "You... you loved me?"
"I did," I whispered, taking another half-step forward. Rain clattered violently against the windowpanes behind him. "And Lily is your daughter. Look at her, Daniel. Look at her face. Do you really want her first memory of her father to be this?"
Daniel looked down at the tiny baby in his arm. Lily opened her big, dark eyes, looking up at him without fear, letting out a soft, tiny coo.
The gun trembled in Daniel’s hand. Tears began to stream down his muddy cheeks. "I... I just wanted my life back... I wanted to be important..."
"You can still save what’s left of your soul," I urged softly, reaching out my hands. "Give me my baby, Daniel. Please."
For a moment, it seemed like he was going to yield. His shoulders sagged, and he began to lower the weapon.
Suddenly, the flashing red and blue lights of dozens of police cruisers illuminated the large windows behind him, sirens wailing in the driveway.
Panicking at the noise, Daniel snapped back into madness. "No! They’re here! They're going to lock me away!"
He raised the gun toward my father.
"NO!" I roared.
In that split second, my father lunged forward, tackling Daniel’s arm upward just as a gunshot shattered the air—BANG!
The bullet buried itself into the high ceiling plaster. I threw myself forward, catching Lily safely as Daniel stumbled backward from my father’s blow.
My father slammed Daniel against the heavy oak desk, wrestling the firearm from his hand and pinning him securely to the floor.
SWAT officers kicked open the library doors, weapons raised, taking control of the room in seconds.
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I dropped to my knees on the oriental rug, clutching Lily tight against my chest, sobbing uncontrollably as her quiet cries filled the room. She was completely unharmed.
On the floor, pinned beneath three tactical officers, Daniel wept loudly into the carpet as the handcuffs clicked tightly around his wrists.
