Chapter 6 - The Poison's Toll
The steel door burst open with a deafening screech of rending metal.
Vance and four heavily armed mercenaries swept into the room, their tactical shotguns raised. Behind them stepped Julian Sterling, looking pristine in a fresh dark coat, an umbrella held casually over his head by an assistant.
"How touching," Julian sneered, stepping over the ruined door frame. "A homeless girl, a disgraced doctor, and a crippled boy playing heroes in the sewer."
"Get away from him, Julian!" Doc shouted, raising a heavy iron wrench.
Vance didn't hesitate. He swung the butt of his shotgun, striking Doc across the jaw. The old man collapsed onto the concrete floor, unconscious.
"Doc!" Wren screamed, stepping in front of Leo with the scalpel held tightly in her hand.
"Put the knife down, little girl," Julian said calmly, taking a slow sip from a silver flask. "You've been a minor annoyance, but your little game ends tonight. Vance, grab the boy. Kill the girl and the doctor. Make it look like an accidental fire."
"No!" Leo yelled, using every ounce of his upper-body strength to throw himself forward out of his wheelchair, landing hard on the cold floor between Wren and the guards.
Julian looked down at his nephew with cold, mocking pity. "Look at you, Leo. Tragic. Dragging yourself across the dirt like a worm. You really believed this street trash could heal you?"
Leo looked up at his uncle, his eyes burning with pure, unadulterated hatred. "I know about the medicine, Julian. I know you poisoned me. I know my mother is alive."
Julian’s mocking smile vanished instantly. His eyes turned ice-cold.
"Then you know too much," Julian whispered.
He pulled a sleek, suppressed pistol from his coat pocket and aimed it directly at Leo's head. "I wanted to do this cleanly. I wanted you to sign the papers, live out your life in a comfortable asylum, and die quietly in a few years. But you forced my hand, nephew."
"Julian, wait!" Wren yelled, stepping between the gun and Leo. "If you kill him here, you get nothing! The Sterling charter states that if the heir dies without signing the trust transfer, thirty percent of the fortune automatically goes to state charity funds! You won't get full control!"
Julian paused, his finger hovering over the trigger. His eyes narrowed as he calculated the financial legalities. She was right. The Sterling family trust had an old, stubborn clause meant to prevent hostile takeovers.
"Smart girl," Julian spat. He gestured to Vance. "Sedate the boy. Bring him to the harbor facility where we're keeping his mother. He will sign those papers tonight, even if I have to break every bone in his hands to force his signature."
Vance stepped forward, driving a syringe into Leo's neck.
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Leo gasped as a thick, icy darkness rushed into his brain. The world began to spin, the sound of rain fading into a dull roar.
The last thing he saw before passing out was Wren fighting wildly against two guards, screaming his name as a heavy blow struck her temple, knocking her into the dark.
