Chapter 10 - THE EDGE OF THE PIERThe southern docks were shrouded in a thick, choking fog.
The smell of salt water, diesel, and rotting wood hung heavy in the air.
Gabriel’s Mercedes slid to a halt fifty yards from the end of Pier 4.
The headlights cut through the fog, illuminating a horrifying scene.
Isabella stood near the very edge of the wooden pier.
She wore a dark trench coat that whipped violently in the ocean wind.
And in front of her, bound by her wrists and crying silently, was Sophie.
A cold steel revolver was pressed firmly against the little girl's temple.
“Stop right there!” Isabella screamed over the roar of the crashing waves.
Gabriel killed the engine and kicked his door open.
“Let her go, Isabella!” Gabriel roared, stepping out into the rain with his hands raised.
“Don't take another step, Gabriel, or I swear to God I’ll pull the trigger right now!” Isabella shrieked, her mascara running down her face in black streaks.
I stepped out of the passenger side, staying low behind the car door.
“You wanted the shipping ports, Isabella!” Gabriel shouted, taking a slow, measured step forward.
“You have them! The legal papers are in the car! Just let the child go!”
Isabella laughed hysterically.
“Do you really think I cared about the ports, Gabriel?”
She pressed the barrel harder against Sophie’s head.
Sophie squeezed her eyes shut, her small body trembling.
“I wanted to destroy you,” Isabella hissed.
“I wanted you to feel the exact same agony I felt when you rejected me for a dead woman!”
“Isabella, please,” I called out, stepping out from behind the car slowly, keeping my hands visible.
“Don't do this. She’s just a little girl.”
Isabella’s eyes snapped toward me with pure hatred.
“Shut up, you pathetic little waitress! This is all your fault!”
“Focus on me, Isabella!” Gabriel interrupted, drawing her attention back to him.
He took another step forward.
Only thirty feet away now.
“If you want revenge, take it out on me.”
Isabella’s finger tightened around the trigger.
Her breathing was erratic.
Unstable.
“Say goodbye, Gabriel.”
May you like
She began to squeeze.
[CLIFFHANGER: JUST AS ISABELLA PULLS THE TRIGGER, A SUDDEN FLASH OF LIGHT AND A DEAFENING ROAR SPLIT THE DOCK APART.]
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