Chapter 6 - The Face of the Monster
"Stop right there!" the man snarled, his voice gravelly and dripping with venom. He backed away toward the open door of the sedan, his eyes darting frantically between the armed police officers and the family standing together in the light.
Detective Vance raised his weapon, shouting, "Drop your weapon! Put your hands on your head where I can see them!"
"Don't take another step, Detective, or I swear to God I’ll put a bullet through this little rat's brain!" The Boss laughed hysterically, his finger tightening on the trigger. He looked directly at Julian, a cruel sneer twisting his scarred mouth. "Traitor. I should have locked you in the box permanently."
Julian buried his face into Richard’s coat, whimpering softly. Richard shielded the boy with his entire body, his eyes blazing with a cold, terrifying fury.
Clara stepped forward, her heart pounding against her ribs like a sledgehammer. She looked at the man who had stolen her son’s childhood, who had beaten him, starved him, and treated him like an animal.
"You ruined his life," Clara said, her voice shaking with a rage so pure it drowned out her fear. "You took a baby from his nursery and turned him into a ghost."
The Boss sneered. "Hey, lady, kids are just currency on the street. Some people buy art; I buy inventory. And this one—" he gestured with the pistol toward Julian "—was my best earner."
"You’re out of inventory, asshole," a voice boomed from the shadows to the left.
Before the Boss could turn his head, a heavy metal crowbar came flying through the air, striking him squarely across the wrist. The pistol flew from his hand, clattering against the gravel.
With a unified roar, three tactical officers tackled the Boss to the ground, slamming his face into the dirt and snapping steel handcuffs around his wrists.
"Suspect secured!" an officer yelled, hauling the struggling man to his feet.
Clara let out a ragged breath she felt like she’d been holding for seven years. She collapsed against Richard, who wrapped his free arm around her waist, holding both of them close.
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"It's over," Richard whispered into her hair. "He's not going to hurt anyone ever again."
Julian slowly lifted his head from Richard's shoulder, watching as the man with the scar was shoved into the back of a police cruiser. For the first time in his life, the monster under the bed wasn't invincible. He was just a pathetic criminal in handcuffs, disappearing into the dark.
