Chapter 5 - THE STANDOFF AT THE NORTH GATE
The beam of Inspector Vance's flashlight cut through the darkness, illuminating the icy determination on Victoria's soot-stained face.
"Drop your weapon, Victoria!" Inspector Vance shouted, keeping his own gun trained on her chest. "You're surrounded! There are twenty federal officers on this property!"
Victoria let out a wild, bitter laugh, her eyes manic under the moonlit canopy of pine trees. "Let them come! But by the time they get to this gate, Ethan will be dead, and I'll be across the state line!"
She shifted the barrel of her silver handgun slightly, aiming it straight at Ethan’s heart.
Ethan didn't back down. He tightened his grip around baby Leo, turning his shoulder to completely shield the child with his own body. His jaw was set like granite.
"Victoria," Ethan said, his voice deadly calm despite the gun pointed at him. "This is between you and me. Let Clara take Leo and walk away."
"No one is walking away!" Victoria snarled, her finger tightening on the trigger. "That little maid ruined a twenty-million-dollar payout for me! She's the reason my father's syndicate is going to cut me off! She dies first!"
Victoria swung the barrel of the gun rapidly toward me.
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl.
Before Victoria could pull the trigger, Inspector Vance lunged forward, firing a warning shot into the ground near her feet. BANG! The loud crack echoed through the trees like thunder.
Victoria gasped in surprise, flinching backward as dirt flew into the air.
In that fraction of a second of distraction, Ethan didn't hesitate. He thrust Leo safely into my arms. "Clara, get behind the stone wall! Now!"
I grabbed Leo, spinning around and diving behind the thick granite pillar of the north gate just as another gunshot shattered the night air.
BANG!
A sharp cry of pain echoed through the clearing.
"Ethan!" I screamed, my heart dropping into a bottomless pit.
I peeked around the granite pillar, my eyes wide with terror.
Ethan was on one knee in the damp grass, gripping his left shoulder where blood was rapidly soaking through his black tuxedo jacket. But despite his injury, he hadn't backed down. He had lunged forward during the gunfire, tackling Victoria at the waist before she could aim at me again.
The two of them crashed into the muddy grass near the idling sedan. The silver handgun spun out of Victoria's hand, sliding across the wet pavement toward the open gate.
"Get off me!" Victoria shrieked, clawing at Ethan's face like a wild animal.
Ethan used his body weight to pin her arms to the ground, despite the bright crimson blood seeping from his shoulder wound. "Vance! Secure the weapon!"
Inspector Vance rushed forward, kicking the handgun far down the road away from the gate, then pressing his heavy knee onto Victoria's back, slapping heavy steel handcuffs onto her wrists with a sharp, satisfying CLICK.
"Victoria Kozlov, you are under arrest for attempted murder, arson, and federal fraud," Vance barked, pulling her violently to her feet.
Victoria thrashed against the handcuffs, her blonde hair matted with mud and soot, her face twisted in pure, impotent rage as she glared at Ethan and me. "You think you've won?!" she spat, saliva dripping from her lips. "My father will break me out of federal prison before the month is over! You'll never be safe, Ethan! Neither will your precious little maid!"
"Take her away," Ethan said coldly, standing up slowly while clutching his bleeding shoulder.
Two more police cruisers came screeching down the gravel driveway, their sirens blaring as federal officers piled out to take custody of Victoria, shoving her into the back seat of a patrol car.
I ran out from behind the stone pillar, rushing to Ethan's side while holding Leo securely against my shoulder.
"Ethan! Oh my God, you're hit!" I cried, tears spilling down my face as I saw the blood running down his sleeve.
"I'm alright, Clara," Ethan gasped, leaning heavily against my shoulder. His face was pale from pain, but his hazel eyes were full of relief as he looked at me and Leo. "The bullet just grazed my shoulder. I'm fine."
He looked down at his son, who was resting peacefully against my neck, completely unhurt.
Ethan reached up with his uninjured hand, his warm fingers wiping a tear from my cheek. "You kept him safe, Clara. You kept both of us safe."
"You took a bullet for us," I sobbed softly, resting my forehead against his chest for a brief, breathless moment.
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"I'd take a hundred bullets for you two," Ethan whispered softly into my hair.
In the distance, the flashing lights of an ambulance pulled up to the north gate, its red lights bathing the three of us in a warm, protective glow as the nightmare of Vance Manor finally began to end.
