Chapter 7 - Confrontation on Marble Floors"Verónica!" Ricardo roared, turning around to shield his mother and Clara. His face was twisted in absolute fury. "You monster! How could you do this to my mother?!"
Verónica didn't flinch. She raised the revolver calmly, pointing it straight at Ricardo's chest, while her two guards stepped into the cellar with heavy iron batons.
"I did what was necessary to secure what belonged to me, Ricardo," Verónica said coldly, her voice devoid of any warmth or regret. "Your mother was going to ruin everything. She saw right through me from day one. She was going to convince you to cut me out of the family trust!"
"She was right!" Ricardo spat, his eyes burning with disgust. "You're a sociopath! Put the gun down, Verónica. It's over!"
"It's only over if I let it be over," Verónica sneered, gesturing to her guards. "Take the maid and lock her in the back room. As for my dear husband... accidents happen in old cellars. A tragic gas leak, perhaps?"
Clara knew that if the guards took control now, none of them would leave the cellar alive.
As one of the heavy guards stepped forward to grab her, Clara didn't run. Instead, she grabbed the heavy iron fire poker from the floor and swung it with all her strength against the light fixture on the low stone ceiling.
SPARK! SHATTER!
The glass bulb exploded, plunging the cellar into pitch blackness.
"What are you doing?!" Verónica screamed, firing a shot wildly into the dark. The gunshot boomed deafeningly against the narrow stone walls.
"Run, Señor Ricardo!" Clara shouted.
In the darkness, chaotic scuffling broke out. Ricardo tackled the nearest guard, sending him crashing into the iron bars, while Clara grabbed Doña Leonor’s thin arm through the gate, guiding her to duck low.
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Ricardo managed to disarm the guard, striking him down with a heavy blow, and grabbed the guard's flashlight. In the flickering light, he saw Verónica fleeing back up the stairs toward the mansion.
"Clara! Stay with my mother!" Ricardo yelled, taking the iron bar and smashing the cell lock until the gate swung open. "Get her upstairs! I'm calling the police!"
