Ch.54: Reunited

The APC's arrival turned the loading bay into a chaotic storm of shouting voices and sweeping tactical lights.

"Federal Agents! Secure the area!"

"Hands! Let me see your hands!"

Sterling’s guards didn’t fight. They dropped their weapons instantly, hands shooting up. They were mercenaries, not martyrs. They knew when a contract was void.

Sterling collapsed against a crate, looking small and defeated. The arrogance had drained out of him, leaving only a terrified old man in a ruined suit.

But Mia didn’t drop her gun.

She stood in the shadows, her pistol still leveled at my head. Her eyes were wide, frantic. She was a cornered animal, and that made her the most dangerous person in the room.

"Stay back!" she screamed, her voice cracking. "I'll kill her! I swear I'll kill her!"

The FBI agents hesitated, their weapons trained on her but holding fire. They couldn't take the shot. Not with me in the line of fire.

"Mia," I said, my voice steady despite the gun barrel trembling inches from my face. "Put it down."

"Shut up!" she shrieked. "This is your fault! You ruined everything! You were supposed to be the good sister! You were supposed to protect me!"

"I did protect you," I said. "I protected you from yourself. I protected you from becoming him."

I nodded toward Sterling, who was being zip-tied by two agents.

"Look at him, Mia. That's your future. That's what you sold Liam for."

"I sold Liam to survive!" she yelled. "And now I'm going to survive this!"

She grabbed my arm, trying to pull me up, using me as a human shield.

"Get up!"

I tried to stand, but my legs were weak from the stress position Sterling had kept me in. I stumbled.

Mia cursed, tightening her grip on my hair.

"Move!"

Suddenly, a shadow detached itself from the darkness behind her.

Julian.

He moved with a terrifying silence. He didn't shout. He didn't posture. He just acted.

He grabbed Mia's gun hand, twisting it upward.

*Bang.*

The shot went into the ceiling, bringing down a shower of dust.

Mia screamed in pain as Julian forced her arm back. He didn't break it, but it was close. The gun clattered to the floor.

He shoved her away, hard. She stumbled back, tripping over a crate and falling to the concrete.

Julian was instantly at my side. He didn't look at Mia. He didn't look at the FBI. He looked at me.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his hands hovering over me, checking for wounds without touching.

"I'm fine," I lied. "Just... tired."

He reached down and pulled the zip-ties from my wrists. He didn't have a knife; he just snapped the plastic with raw, adrenaline-fueled strength.

He pulled me up, wrapping his arms around me. He held me tight, his face buried in my neck. He was shaking.

"I thought I lost you," he whispered.

"You can't lose me," I said, leaning into him. "I'm the only lawyer you can afford."

"Don't move!" an FBI agent shouted, advancing on us.

Julian turned, shielding me with his body. He raised his hands, but he didn't step away.

"We're surrendering," he said calmly. "We're unarmed."

Agent Miller walked through the line of tactical officers. He looked at the scene—Sterling in cuffs, the mercenaries subdued, Julian and I standing in the wreckage.

Then he looked at Mia.

She was scrambling for the gun.

"Drop it!" Miller shouted.

Mia ignored him. She grabbed the pistol. She wasn't aiming at the agents. She wasn't aiming at Julian.

She was aiming at me.

"If I go down," she hissed, her eyes filled with madness, "you're coming with me."

Julian moved to cover me, but he was too far. The agents were too slow.

I stepped out from behind Julian. I looked my sister in the eye.

"Shoot me," I said.

Mia froze. The gun wavered.

"Do it," I challenged. "If you really are a killer. If you really are the monster you pretended to be. Do it."

"I will!" she screamed.

"Then pull the trigger!" I shouted. "Kill the only person left in this world who ever gave a damn about you! Kill the sister who raised you! Do it, Mia! Finish what you started in that alley!"

Mia stared at me. Her hand was shaking violently. Tears were streaming down her face.

In that moment, I saw the truth. She wasn't a monster. She wasn't a mastermind. She was a weak, greedy, frightened child who had gotten in way over her head.

She couldn't do it. She could order a hit. She could sign a death warrant. But she couldn't look me in the eye and pull the trigger.

"I hate you," she whispered.

"I know," I said. "I love you too."

Mia hesitated. That was her mistake.