Chapter 8 - The Falling Chandelier
Julian lunged forward with psychotic speed, tackling Clara to the hard floor. They tumbled across the burning Persian rug, hot embers singeing Clara's clothes and hair. She fought back with raw, desperate ferocity, using the iron poker to strike Julian across his wounded jaw. He cried out in agony but managed to pin her arms down against the hardwood floor, his knees brutally crushing her ribs. "You were always supposed to be the quiet, submissive heir," he growled, grabbing a heavy, flaming piece of oak timber from the floor and raising it high above her face. "This dynasty ends tonight!"
Just as he prepared to bring the burning timber down onto her head, a sharp, deafening gunshot echoed above the roar of the inferno. The high-caliber bullet didn't hit Julian—it struck the central iron hook high in the ceiling holding the library's massive, multi-ton crystal chandelier. The iron chain snapped with a sound like a cracking whip, and the massive fixture plummeted from the ceiling, crashing down directly between Clara and Julian with catastrophic force.
