Chapter 56
Chapter 56
“Leader, the police are here,” one of the Walkers informed Calvin urgently.
Calvin could already hear the wail of sirens and the amplified voices echoing outside.
“Attention inside! Surrender immediately, or we will use force!” the police commanded through their megaphones.
He turned to two of his men and pointed at Sophia and Chr.
“Take these two to join the other guests,” he ordered.
“Have all of them text their parents–cach–demanding ten million dollars within the next thirty minutes, or we start shooting thein.”
The guards seized Sophia and Chris, dragging them away as Calvin strode toward the front of the hall. Grabbing the microphone connected to Heaven Hall’s sound system, he addressed the authorities outside.
“I demand the immediate release of my brother, Ethan the Giant, from prison,” Calvin announced.
“Bring him here, or we will execute one hostage every hour”
The officers exchanged grim looks.
Ethan the Giant was a notorious criminal, a dangerous individual responsible for countless deaths.
His capture had cost the lives of fifty officers and soldiers.
Releasing him was out of the question.
But Calvin knew that. His demand was a ploy–a tactic to buy time.
Freeing his brother from the most secure prison would take days, mired in bureaucratic red tape.
It was all a smokescreen, meant to distract the authorities long enough for his father to secure control over Kingston’s empire.
Once they held that power, even the police would be under their sway.
“We expect a positive response within the hour,” Calvin warned, signaling to his men.
One of them dragged a wounded Kingston bodyguard to the entrance and shoved him forward.
“Run,” Calvin barked.
The bodyguard stumbled into the open, desperation in his eyes.
Before he could reach safety, a gunshot cracked through the night. Calvin had shot him from behind.
His body hit the ground, lifeless, before the police could reach him.
“That’s one!” Calvin shouted. “In exactly one hour, we’ll send another to their death. You’d better be ready!”
A heavy silence fell over the scene. The police now grasped the deadly seriousness of the situation.
***
Meanwhile, Chris, battered and bleeding, stumbled toward the cluster of hostages. His eyes locked onto Lyra.
+25 BONUS
Chapter 56
“Lyra, please,” he implored. “My nosebleed… it won’t stop!‘
Lyra’s gaze hardened, her eyes slicing through him like daggers.
“And who,” she sneered, “do you think you are?”
“Lyra!” Chris gasped, disbelief washing over him.
The cold, contemptuous woman before him couldn’t be the same Lyra he once knew–the one whose kindness had been his closest companion.
“It’s me, Chris. What’s going on? Why are you acting like this?”
A cruel smirk twisted Lyra’s lips.
“Oh, Chris,” she spat his name like it was poison.
“I don’t waste my breath on vermin like you. Don’t even think of addressing me—you make my skin crawl! And stop saying my name. It’s tainted every time it leaves your filthy mouth.”
Chris’s heart plummeted, her words striking him like physical blows. Never had anyone spoken to him with such disdain.
“Me? Vermin?” His anger surged, fueled by humiliation and the sting of her rejection in front of everyone.
Shame burned hotter than his wounds. “Say that again, I dare you!”
“You’re nothing but a repulsive, conniving rat!” Lyra’s voice dripped with venom, each word sharper than the last. “You swindled Lancaster out of his fortune, your treacherous father betrayed Kingston and threw us all to the wolves. And you know what’s truly pathetic? You’re penniless–a worthless nobody! Alex surpasses you in every conceivable way!”
Chris felt as if the ground had shifted beneath him.
This couldn’t be the Lyra he thought he knew. Her scathing contempt was unbearable.
“You… how can you say that?” His voice wavered, the betrayal cutting deep.
“What?” Lyra’s eyes blazed with fury.
“Don’t you dare look at me! Being near you makes me sick. Your family’s in ruins, your father’s probably rotting somewhere, and you… you’re less than nothing. Stay away from me! You disgust me!”
Turning sharply, Lyra called out, “Sophia, take legal action against this loser. Make him repay every cent of the hundred million he stole from you!”
“He’s the real parasite here, the epitome of failure. He even had the audacity to lay a hand on you! Someone should put him out of his misery.”
Chris stood there, his mind reeling. Moments ago, he had been one of Vancouver’s elite–the celebrated heir of the affluent Roland family, a man who could turn heads with a glance.
Now, he was being torn down, piece by piece.
A rage unlike any he’d known ignited within him.
He stormed toward Lyra. “I’ll make you regret this,” he snarled.
Lyra darted behind Alex, her movements quick but not quick enough to hide her disdain.
2/3
Chapter 56
+25 BONUST
“Regret? You think you can touch me? Alex could crush you without breaking a sweat. Look around–everyone sees you for what you are: a pathetic has been who couldn lay a finger on Alex even if he tried!”
Chris’s eyes widened, a mix of rage and disbelief.
His gaze shifted to Alex, his fury intensifying. “This is all because of you!”
Lyra’s laugh was cold. “No, Chris. When a man loses his wealth, he loses everything–friends, lovers, even his dog despises him. Do you think I’m worth less than a dog? You’re delusional.”
Overcome by rage, Chris lunged forward, determined to make her eat her words.
But before he could reach her, Alex moved–so swiftly that Chris didn’t even register it.
An instant later, pain exploded in his chest, and he crumpled to the floor, powerless.
Lyra stepped over his fallen form, leaning down so her words would be the last thing he heard.
“In the eyes of a woman, a man without wealth is the greatest sinner. Do us all a favor–disappear. Perhaps in hell, you can atone for your failures.”
For the first time, Chris felt a despair so profound it threatened to consume him.
The cold floor pressed against his cheek as her words echoed endlessly in his mind.
Love may conquer all, but it’s money that pays the rent. When the rent’s overdue, even love starts packing its bags.
3/3
