Chapter 13 - The Doorway of the Gulfstream and Mara’s Final Bluff
The heavy cabin door of the private jet clicked open, sliding smoothly outward on its hydraulic hinges to reveal the warm, golden illumination of the luxury interior.
Standing in the doorway, framed against the plush leather seats and mahogany paneling of the cabin, was Mara Feldman.
She didn't look like the untouchable corporate attorney who had ruled the New York legal circuit with an iron fist; her designer suit was rumpled, her hair slightly disheveled, and her face pale with cold panic.
Yet in her right hand, she clutched a heavy-caliber revolver, holding it with a trembling, desperate grip aimed directly down at the tarmac below.
"Stay back, Sebastian!" Mara screamed, her voice cracking with hysteria as she took a half-step down the metal boarding stairs.
"You think you won? You think getting a little file uploaded to the Inspector General’s office changes anything?"
Sebastian walked slowly out from the shadows of the forklift housing, his hands empty and visible, his posture radiating an absolute, unshakeable dominance that made her flinch.
"It changes everything, Mara," Sebastian said smoothly, his voice dangerously low. "Your bank accounts are frozen, your warrants are signed, and your mercenaries are bleeding out on the concrete floor."
"I have a helicopter inbound from the Darrow family!" Mara lied frantically, waving the barrel of her revolver in a erratic, dangerous arc.
"If you take one more step toward these stairs, I will put a bullet through your precious archivist's head before you can blink!"
Valerie stepped out from behind the forklift, standing right beside Sebastian into the pale light, her green eyes fixed on the desperate attorney with utter contempt.
"I'm right here, Mara," Valerie said, her voice steady and clear. "You don't need to threaten me from a metal staircase. Why don't you come down and finish what you started in the sub-basement?"
Mara’s face twisted into an ugly mask of pure, unadulterated hatred as she glared down at Valerie with venomous rage.
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"You ruined everything, you stupid little stray!" Mara shrieked, her finger tightening convulsively against the trigger of the heavy revolver.
She swung the barrel away from Sebastian and pointed it directly at Valerie’s chest, the hammer cocking back with a sharp, terrifying click.
