Chapter 9 - The Execution
Outside the door, Marcus froze.
He turned slowly to see Victor standing at the top of the staircase.
Victor was completely unharmed, holding his pistol casually by his side.
Behind him stood Silas, holding a terrified Dr. Aris by the scruff of the neck.
"You always were impatient, Marcus," Victor said, his voice echoing in the grand hallway.
Marcus raised his weapon, but he was far too slow.
Victor fired twice.
The bullets hit Marcus squarely in the chest, dropping the traitor to the marble floor instantly.
Dr. Aris screamed, dropping to his knees and covering his head.
"Please!" the doctor begged.
"He forced me, he threatened my family!"
Victor walked slowly down the hallway, stepping over Marcus's bleeding body.
He looked down at the trembling surgeon.
"You took an oath to save lives," Victor said coldly.
"Instead, you sold mine for a paycheck."
Victor didn't shoot him.
He looked at Silas.
"Strip him of his medical license, seize his assets, and put him on a boat to a country where he doesn't speak the language."
"If he ever sets foot in my city again, kill him."
Silas dragged the sobbing doctor away.
Victor stood alone in the hallway, the smell of gunpowder heavy in the air.
He knocked gently on the heavy oak door.
"It is me, Clara."
She unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open.
She looked at the body on the floor, then at the smoking gun in Victor's hand.
She didn't flinch.
She didn't run away.
She simply stepped out into the hallway and looked up into his dark eyes.
"Are you hurt?" she asked him, repeating his own question back to him.
Victor dropped the gun onto a side table.
He reached out and pulled her fiercely into his arms.
He buried his face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her skin.
"No," he whispered.
"I am perfectly fine."
For the first time in his violent life, Victor Kaine felt completely and utterly victorious.
May you like
Not because he had crushed a rebellion, but because the woman he held in his arms had not looked at him with fear.
She had looked at him with acceptance.
