PART 26
The side door of the warehouse blew open,
and a figure stood in the rain,
holding a smoking shotgun.
It was Claire.
She had escaped from the hospital,
her hospital gown stained with blood from her reopened shoulder wound.
Her hands were shaking,
but her eyes were wild with a desperate,
protective fury.
"Get away from my sister!"
she screamed,
pumping the shotgun,
ejecting an empty shell that clinked loudly against the floor.
Vance spun around,
surprised,
firing two quick shots toward her.
One bullet hit her leg,
and she collapsed to her knees,
dropping the weapon with a painful shriek.
But that distraction was all I needed.
I reached into my jacket,
pulled out my father’s revolver,
and aimed it straight at Vance’s torso.
I fired once,
twice,
three times.
The loud booms echoed like thunder inside the tin warehouse.
Vance staggered backward,
his eyes wide with shock,
looking down at the three red circles spreading across his expensive suit.
He dropped his gun,
his hands clawing at the air,
before falling backward over the edge of the pier,
crashing down into the dark,
roaring ocean below.
The water swallowed him instantly,
the black waves washing away the Architect forever.
The warehouse doors burst open fully,
and Sarah Mitchell ran inside with twenty federal agents,
weapons raised,
but the fight was already over.
I scrambled over to Noah,
tearing the tape from his mouth,
pulling him into my arms.
"Mommy, Mommy!"
he sobbed,
burying his face in my neck.
"I’m here, baby,
I’m here,"
I whispered,
rocking him back and forth.
Across the floor,
Claire was lying in a pool of water and blood,
breathing heavily,
looking at me with a sad,
peaceful smile.
"Did I...
did I save him, Emma?"
she whispered.
I looked at my sister,
the woman who had ruined my life,
and the woman who had just risked everything to save my son.
"Yes, Claire,"
I said,
May you like
tears streaming down my face,
"you saved him."
