Chapter 17 - Fire Meets Ice
“The only monsters in my life have been you and your mother,” Avery shouted back, stepping out of the jungle cover.
Liam hesitated. He looked down at Leo, who was starting to stir in his arms. “I did it to protect him, Avery! You don't know the threats we were under. My mother... she made deals. Deals I couldn't break.”
“Then break them now!” Avery implored, stepping closer, ignoring the lasers of the security drones hovering overhead. “Give me our son, Liam. Let’s go. We can disappear. We can start over.”
For a moment, Liam seemed to consider it. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. But then, a voice boomed from the villa entrance.
“Don't you dare, Liam!” Victoria strode onto the terrace, holding a detonator. “If I’m going down, the whole island goes with me. I’ve wired the entire estate to blow. You, Avery, the boy—everyone dies here tonight.”
Avery stared at the detonator, her heart sinking. Victoria was truly insane. She wasn't just a strategist; she was a nihilist.
“You’re bluffing,” Liam said, his voice trembling.
May you like
“Try me,” Victoria sneered, her finger hovering over the button.
The air grew deathly still. The final showdown had arrived, not in a boardroom or a courtroom, but on an island surrounded by the deep, dark ocean.
