Chapter 38 - The Shattered Reflection
The halogen floodlights died instantly.
The massive generator at the base of the lighthouse went completely silent as Julian’s breaching charge severed the main fuel lines. The lantern room plunged into darkness, illuminated only by the rhythmic, ghostly sweep of the external storm beam cutting through the glass.
In Daniel’s ear, his tactical radio screamed with panicked Russian curses, followed by the dull, rapid bursts of suppressed gunfire echoing up the spiral stairwell. Julian was coming.
"Hold the stairs! Shoot anything that moves!" Daniel shrieked into his radio, his composure shattering into frantic screams.
He swung the revolver back toward me, but I was already moving.
I didn't run away. I closed the distance.
With all the force in my body, I smashed the heavy glass foundation bottle directly into Daniel’s face.
The thick glass cracked against the bridge of his nose with a sickening crunch. The bottle shattered, exploding into shards and splashing the thick, viscous beige liquid across Daniel’s eyes, blinding him instantly.
Daniel howled in agony, stumbling backward, dropping the tablet to the iron floor. "My eyes! God damn you, Serena, my eyes!"
He fired wildly into the dark. The gunshot in the enclosed glass dome was ear-splitting, a sonic crack that shattered two adjacent window panels. The gale-force wind roared through the breach instantly, soaking the room in horizontal rain and whipping my white silk skirt around my legs.
The bullet struck the left side of my chest.
The impact slammed me backward against the iron railing, knocking the breath from my lungs in a violent explosion of pain. But the ceramic plate absorbed the kinetic shock—the bullet flattened against the armor, saving my heart.
"Serena!" Clara’s voice screamed through the earpiece. "The live feed is still active on backup batteries! I’ve rerouted the stream! It’s no longer broadcasting to his syndicate—I’ve patched Daniel’s camera directly into the global news syndicates and the SEC fraud enforcement division! Everything he says is on public record!"
Daniel was on his knees, clawing furiously at his face, wiping the greasy foundation and blood from his eyes. Through the blurred mess of makeup and gore, his eyes locked onto me as I stood back up, untouched, upright, the white dress gleaming under the moonlight slicing through the shattered glass.
"You... you didn't die..." he stammered, his voice choked with horror. "I shot you... I shot you!"
"You missed, Daniel," I said, reaching beneath the hem of my white skirt.
May you like
I drew the carbon pistol from my thigh holster.
The cold steel leveled directly between Daniel’s blinded, foundation-stained eyes.
