Chapter 28 - Unmasking the Puppeteer
Jonathan pulled himself onto the upper gantry, panting heavily, blood dripping from his fingertips. The cold wind howled through the shattered skylights directly above him, whipping rain into his eyes.
Ten feet away, standing beside the hoist mechanism, the masked figure stood motionless.
"You made it," the synthesized voice said, but there was no surprise in the tone. Only cold, methodical calculation. "Just like the hero you always pretended to be in court."
"Take off the mask," Jonathan rasped, raising his pistol, leveling the barrel squarely at the center of the figure's chest. "It’s over. Marcus has the perimeter surrounded. You have nowhere to run."
The figure didn't flinch at the sight of the gun. Instead, they reached up with both hands, unlocked the clasps behind their ears, and slowly pulled the porcelain mask away.
Jonathan’s breath hitched in his throat.
The face staring back at him was not a faceless mercenary. It was not an agent sent by Victoria’s wealthy criminal associates.
It was a woman in her late thirties, with sharp, aristocratic cheekbones, piercing hazel eyes, and a cruel, bitter twist to her lips. Her dark hair was cut short, plastered against her temples by the damp mist.
"Julianna?" Jonathan whispered, his weapon wavering slightly. "Victoria’s sister..."
"Julianna Vance-Sterling," she spat, her voice now raw, natural, and dripping with venom. "Did you think I would let you rot my sister in maximum security while you played the noble single father in your gilded mansion? Did you think I would let you erase her memory while you live on her family's fortune?"
"Victoria was sick, Julianna!" Jonathan shouted over the roar of the wind. "She terrorized a four-year-old child! You saw the security tapes! You saw her standing over Lily’s bed with broken glass! You saw the bruises!"
"I saw what you edited!" Julianna screamed, her eyes blazing with madness. "Victoria never touched that child until you drove her over the edge! You drugged her wine, Jonathan! You staged the breakages! You wanted her out of the trust fund so you could inherit the Sterling industrial patents, and you used that little bastard girl as the bait to send my sister to the asylum!"
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Jonathan stared at her, horrified by the depth of her delusion. "That’s insane! I loved Victoria until she began hurting my daughter! The cameras don't lie, Julianna! The hidden camera in the ceiling caught everything!"
"Then let's see what the camera catches tonight," Julianna smiled, a terrifying, tranquil smile that made Jonathan’s soul turn cold.
