He popped the gold latches, reached in, and pulled out the thick stack of loan papers.
“This ends today, Joshua,”
Robert said, his voice dropping into a deadly, quiet register that terrified me more than his yelling. “I am completely out of time, and so are you. We are not leaving this house until you sign these papers.”
“I told you I’m not doing it,”
I said, keeping my voice loud and steady, making sure the hidden audio receivers in the ceiling picked up every syllable clearly. “That debt is yours. You gambled it away on cards and mob debts. I am not making my family homeless to pay for your criminal mistakes.”
Diane let out that terrible scraping laugh from the kitchen.
“Your debt too, sweetheart. You owe us everything—the food you ate as a child, the clothes on your back. Your life means nothing to us. Trash like you owns nothing worth keeping. Sign it, or I swear we will take Hazel and let child services deal with you.”
“You have no right to be in my home,”
I warned them, staring Robert down. “Get out.”
Robert’s face contorted into a mask of unhinged fury. He reached inside his tailored suit jacket. When his hand emerged, the overhead light glinted off the cold, dark metal of a heavy handgun.
My heart slammed against my sternum so hard it physically hurt. The air in the room vanished.
“Here’s how this works,”
Robert said, racking the slide with a sharp metallic clack. A live bullet was chambered. “This isn’t a prop to scare you. You’re going to sit down at that table, sign every single page where I’ve put a sticky note, and then we’re going to leave like one big happy family.”
I reached into my pocket, pretending to go for my phone.
“I’m calling the police right now.”
Carter lunged forward, moving fast for his size. He violently slapped the phone out of my hand. It skittered across the hardwood, sliding under the sofa, out of reach.
Carter shoved the loan papers into my chest.
“Do it now, Joshua. Stop being a dramatic loser and just sign the damn papers. This is just a family matter.”
Diane smiled from the kitchen, her eyes gleaming with malice.
“We handle our own problems internally. We always have.”
I looked down at Hazel. She was trembling, staring in shock at the gun in her grandfather’s hand. A soft, heartbreaking whimper slipped out of her.
“Let her go, Khloe,”
I demanded, taking a heavy step forward.
Carter shoved me back hard, nearly knocking me over.
Robert didn’t keep the gun pointed at me. He stepped forward, closing the distance between him and my little girl. He lowered his arm and pressed the barrel of the loaded gun directly against the side of Hazel’s head.
Hazel froze instantly. Her crying stopped.
“Sign the loan papers right now, or else!”
Robert roared, spittle flying.
Every protective instinct in my body screamed at me to attack him, to tear his throat out with my bare hands. But I knew if I moved aggressively, he might pull the trigger in a panic.
I had to play the card. I had to end this.
I looked dead into the hidden lens of the pendant on my chest.
“Emergency assistance,”
I said loudly, clearly, articulating every syllable.
Robert scoffed, confused.
“What the hell are you babbling about? Sign the paper.”
“I won’t let you destroy her future,”
I said, stalling for time.
My eyes locked on the gun barrel against my daughter’s head as I counted the seconds in my mind.
One. Two. Three.
“We warned you this might happen,”
Diane yelled, growing impatient.
Robert’s finger tightened on the trigger.
“This is your last chance, Joshua.”
I didn’t reach for the pen. I lunged.
I threw my body weight forward, aiming to tackle Robert away from my daughter, sacrificing myself.
Bang.
The gun went off. A bright muzzle flash lit the room. The sound was explosive, tearing through the silence like a bomb. Plaster rained down from the ceiling above us.
Hazel crumpled to the floor.