Chapter 6 - The Wife Who Came Back Armed
Celeste pressed the gun against the back of Adrian’s head.
“Move away from Evelyn.”
Adrian did not turn around.
“How did you escape?”
Celeste laughed softly.
“You still believe money makes you powerful.”
“It only makes people easier to buy.”
Dr. Hale pulled Evelyn closer to the roof’s edge.
She could barely stand.
Her hospital gown was torn.
Dark bruises covered her wrists.
Adrian’s anger burned through his fear.
“You left your own child in a dumpster.”
Celeste’s breathing changed.
“He is not my child.”
“He is mine.”
“That is exactly the problem.”
Adrian turned slowly.
Celeste’s eyes were full of hatred.
“You had everything.”
“A name.”
“A company.”
“A wife who protected your reputation.”
“And you risked it all for her.”
She pointed the gun toward Evelyn.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Adrian stepped between them.
“I ended the relationship.”
“You loved her.”
“I barely knew her.”
“You looked at her differently.”
Celeste’s voice broke.
“You looked at her the way you never looked at me.”
Adrian stared at the woman he had married.
“You kidnapped her because you were jealous?”
Celeste shook her head.
“This was never just about jealousy.”
Dr. Hale glanced toward the stairwell.
Sirens grew louder below.
“We need to leave.”
Celeste ignored him.
She looked at Adrian.
“Ask Evelyn why she came to your company hearing.”
Evelyn’s lips trembled.
Adrian turned toward her.
“What does she mean?”
Evelyn tried to speak.
Dr. Hale tightened his arm around her throat.
Celeste smiled.
“She wasn’t there because of the tenants.”
“She was investigating Julian’s death.”
Adrian felt the roof shift beneath him.
“My brother’s death was ruled an accident.”
“Because I paid the medical examiner.”
Adrian stared at her.
Celeste continued.
“Julian discovered what my father and Dr. Hale were doing at this hospital.”
“What were they doing?”
Hale’s expression became nervous.
“Celeste, stop.”
She ignored him.
“They tested unapproved drugs on homeless patients.”
“Patients without families.”
“People no one would search for.”
Evelyn opened her eyes.
“Julian copied the records.”
Celeste looked at her with pure hatred.
“And Evelyn found part of his evidence.”
Adrian felt sick.
“You killed him to protect your father.”
Celeste’s face went cold.
“I pushed him.”
The confession hung in the night air.
Adrian took one step toward her.
Celeste raised the gun.
“He threatened to destroy my family.”
“So you murdered mine?”
“He slipped after I pushed him.”
“You left him on the ground.”
“He was still breathing.”
Celeste glanced at Dr. Hale.
“Hale finished it.”
Hale’s face tightened.
“You said he was dead.”
“You injected him.”
“You told me it would look like trauma from the fall.”
Adrian looked between them.
The two people he had trusted most were turning on each other.
A police helicopter appeared above the building.
A spotlight flooded the roof.
Celeste shielded her eyes.
Evelyn drove her elbow into Hale’s ribs.
He fired.
The bullet struck the roof near Adrian.
Evelyn broke free.
Hale reached for her.
Adrian tackled him.
The gun slid across the concrete.
Celeste ran toward it.
Evelyn reached it first.
Both women grabbed the weapon.
A shot exploded.
Celeste staggered backward.
She looked down.
Blood spread across the side of her gown.
Adrian froze.
Celeste took another step.
The roof’s crumbling ledge broke beneath her heel.
She fell backward.
Adrian lunged and caught her wrist.
Celeste hung over the edge.
Far below, police lights flashed across the pavement.
She looked up at Adrian.
For the first time, she appeared helpless.
“Don’t let me fall.”
Adrian strained to hold her.
Evelyn crawled toward them.
Hale quietly picked up a second gun hidden beneath his coat.
He aimed at Adrian’s back.
Evelyn saw him.
“Adrian!”
May you like
Hale pulled the trigger.
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