Chapter 19 - Shattered Heights
Nathaniel’s breath hitched. "Never."
"Then watch your mother plummet," Arthur roared, shoving the wheelchair forward by two terrifying inches. Eleanor’s front wheels slipped off the concrete curb, catching only on the narrow steel gutter. Eleanor let out a muffled scream behind the tape.
"Nathaniel, wait!" Rose shouted, stepping forward, hands raised in plain view. "Arthur! Look at me!"
Arthur froze, his thumb hovering millimeter-thin over the trigger. "Tired of living, little maid?"
"You hate me because I destroyed your legacy without a dime to my name," Rose said loudly, taking deliberate, measured steps across the slick terrace. The rain soaked through her clothes, plastering her hair to her forehead. "You want Nathaniel broken? Killing his mother makes him vengeful. Killing me... destroys his soul. Let Eleanor go. Take me instead."
"Rose, no! Stay back!" Nathaniel yelled, his eyes wild with terror. He took a half-step, but Arthur jerked the wheelchair again.
"One more step, Vance, and they both go!" Arthur barked. He looked at Rose, a sadistic pleasure gleaming in his eyes. "Step to the edge. Climb the balustrade. Show me the bravery of the gutter."
Rose took another step. Her boots squeaked on the wet glass. She was five feet from Eleanor, three feet from Arthur. Beneath her coat, her right hand tightened around the heavy steel wrench concealed in her oversized sleeve.
"You think the poor are weak, Arthur," Rose whispered, now only arm's length away. "You think having nothing makes us easy to break."
"You are nothing," Arthur hissed, reaching his left hand out to grab Rose's throat.
The moment his fingers brushed her collar, Rose moved with blinding, feral speed.
Instead of backing away, she dove straight into him. Her hidden hand swung the solid steel wrench upward with all the momentum of her body, shattering Arthur’s wrist in a sickening crunch. The detonator flew from his grasp, arcing high into the stormy sky before tumbling into the abyss below.
Arthur shrieked in agony, dropping Eleanor’s wheelchair.
"Nathaniel, grab your mother!" Rose screamed.
Arthur lunged at Rose with his good arm, tackling her to the rain-slicked floor. They rolled toward the ledge, the shattered glass cutting into Rose’s arms. Nathaniel sprinted forward, lunging with his left arm to haul his mother’s wheelchair backward onto the safety of the terrace while his right arm brought the butt of his pistol crashing down across Arthur’s temple.
Arthur collapsed, stunned and bleeding, half his body dangling over the edge of the ninety-second floor.
He stared up at Nathaniel, blood streaming down his aristocratic face into the rain. "You... you think it ends with me?" Arthur wheezed, a hideous, bloody grin splitting his lips. "The Obsidian Circle... they will wipe your name from history... she knows... your mother knows who killed your father..."
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Before Nathaniel could demand an answer, the slick concrete beneath Arthur’s trench coat gave way under his dead weight. With a final, choked gasp, Arthur Thorne slipped into the roaring void, swallowed instantly by the black fog below.
***
