Ahead, a faint glow bled out around the edges of a closed door.
Eli motioned for them to stop and crouched slightly, his eyes locked on the slim frame of light. The door wasn’t fully shut. It was old and warped, with layers of paint curling off like skin. Aflickering light moved beyond it, like a lantern or maybe a flashlight swaying gently back and forth.
Eli turned to Delaney. “Movement inside.”
She gave a tight nod, already stepping to the side of the doorframe. Eli did the same on the other side. Vivian was next to him, her left hand braced on the wall.
Inside the room, something creaked.
A shadow passed across the crack of light.
“Get behind us,” he whispered to Vivian and was thankful that she obeyed.
Eli crouched low beside the wall, the cracked tile slick beneath his boots. The faint line of light beneath the door ahead pulsed like a warning. His heart pounded, steady and sharp.
In his earpiece, Noah’s voice came through clear. “We’re at the back door. Sheriff and I are in position.”
Eli glanced at Delaney, then Vivian. Both of them were tense, focused.
“We move on this together,” Noah said. “On my count. Three. Two. One…”
Eli shifted forward, weapon drawn, eyes on the door. Ready.
Eli pushed through the door, weapon raised, just as Noah and Sheriff Chase stormed in from the back. Rain-soaked boots squeaked against the cracked linoleum, the sharp scent of mildew heavy in the air.
Four people turned at once, startled by the sudden intrusion.
Ava and a young man were in the middle of an embrace. They jolted apart as the door burst open. The man in the raincoat—Lawrence—stood a few feet away, his face contorted in rage.
“What the hell is going on?” he bellowed, voice echoing off the walls.
The other man, someone Eli didn’t recognize, was near the far corner. He moved fast, hand diving inside his jacket.
Eli reacted just as quickly. “Gun!” he shouted.
The stranger’s weapon cleared leather, and everything snapped into motion. The gun fired.
Eli flinched, but it wasn’t his weapon. Or the man’s. It was Vivian’s.
The man with the gun stumbled back as the bullet hit him in the chest. He crashed against the wall, then crumpled to the floor, blood already pooling beneath him.
Ava screamed. Jason threw his arms around her, trying to shield her eyes from the dead man.
Vivian didn’t stop. She pivoted, raised the gun again, and leveled it at her father.
“You did this,” she shouted. “You lured her here. You planned to kill her. You want Olivia, Ava, and me gone so you can control everything. The estate. The legacy. All of it.”
Lawrence didn’t flinch. His jaw tightened, his rain-slicked coat clinging to his frame as he squared his shoulders.
“I only want you gone,” he spat. “You’re unstable. You just shot a man.” He turned to SheriffChase. “Arrest her. Now.”
The room pulsed with tension. Eli held his weapon low but ready, heart pounding as he glanced between Vivian and the sheriff, waiting to see what would happen next.
Delaney dropped to her knees beside the man Vivian had shot and pressed two fingers to his neck.
“He’s alive,” she said quickly. “Weak pulse.”
Sheriff Chase was already reaching for her radio. “We need an ambulance at the old Hale facility. Gunshot victim. Still breathing.”
