Chapter 12 - THE HANGAR
Marcus, Gabriel, and the police reached the airfield before dawn.
The abandoned hangar stood beyond a chain-link fence, its metal walls shaking in the wind.
Inside, Victoria had arranged fuel cans around the remaining pieces of Daniel’s plane.
She held a lighter in one hand and a folder in the other.
“Stay back,” she warned.
Marcus stepped forward. “Give me the evidence.”
“This evidence will destroy everything your grandfather built.”
“No. You destroyed it.”
Victoria’s face hardened. “I protected you. I protected this family from weakness.”
“You attacked my wife.”
“I gave Isabella a task. She lost control.”
“You tried again in the hospital.”
Victoria said nothing.
Marcus moved closer. “Was my grandfather’s death an accident?”
For the first time, Victoria’s voice cracked.
“He was going to take the company from me.”
“That is not an answer.”
“He left me no choice.”
The words hung in the cold air.
A police officer recorded every syllable.
Victoria realized too late.
She dropped the lighter.
A small line of fuel ignited.
May you like
Flames raced across the hangar floor toward the wreckage—and toward the only exit behind Marcus.
Victoria stared at the fire as if she had summoned it to erase twenty years. “You were supposed to inherit everything,” she shouted. “I made you strong.” Marcus backed away from the flames. “You taught me to confuse fear with respect. That ends tonight.”
