Chapter 47 THE TOWER CONFRONTATION

Chapter 47 THE TOWER CONFRONTATION
Joyce's POV

My throat felt tight. My hands trembled at my sides.

"Choose," Vane said again.

I needed my team to reach me. 

"Tell me about Emma," I said.

His finger froze over the button. "What?"

"Emma, your daughter. What really happened the night she died?"

Vane's jaw clenched. The gun in his other hand wavered slightly. "That has nothing to do with this."

"It has everything to do with this."

Vane stared at me for a long moment. Then something in his face shifted. The cold mask cracked.

His voice got rougher. "By the time I checked my messages, she was already dead. Jumped from the packhouse roof and broke her neck on impact."

I forced myself to stay still. 

"The last message," Vane continued. "She was crying. Begging me to come get her."

He looked down at the detonator in his hand. "I failed her. I was supposed to protect her."

Genuine pain flickered across his face. This was a broken father drowning in guilt.

"But all these that you are doing will not bring her back."

"Nothing will bring her back!" His shout echoed across the valley. 

I took a careful step forward. Vane did not raise the gun.

"You are right," I said. "Nothing will bring Emma back, but blowing up that hospital will not honour her memory. It will just create more pain. More broken families like yours."

"Good. Let them feel what I feel."

"Emma would not want this."

Vane's hand shook. "You did not know her. You have no idea what she would want."

"I know she loved you. I know she would not want you to become the same kind of monster that destroyed her."

The gun lowered an inch. Vane's eyes were wet now. 

"I have been failing her every day since she died," he whispered. "By not finishing what I started. By not making them all pay."

"This is not about making anyone pay. This is about your guilt."

"Of course it is about my guilt!" He looked at me, and I saw everything beneath the anger..

"She had her whole life ahead of her.."

I thought about Dalton. About how his rejection had nearly broken me. About the nights I spent wondering if the pain would ever stop.

"I understand," I said. "I was rejected, and it almost destroyed me. I know the pain. But I also know that destroying the bond system will not fix it. It will just take away the chance for people to find real love."

"There is no real connection."

"That is not true. The bond brings people together, but love is a choice. Emma deserved someone who would choose her every day. Who would fight for her."

Vane's thumb hovered over the button, like he could not decide.

"You can still choose differently," I said. "You can still honour Emma by helping people instead of hurting them. By making sure no one else falls through the cracks as she did."

For one heartbeat, I thought he might listen. 

Then his expression hardened. The mask slammed back into place.

"Pain is all I have left," he said. "At least I can share it."

His thumb moved toward the button.

I lunged forward. 

A gunshot cracked through the air.

Vane stumbled backwards. Blood spread across his shoulder, down to his coat. The gun fell from his hand and clattered on the metal platform.

Taylor appeared on the tower stairs. His weapon was still raised and pointed at Vane's chest.

"Step away from the detonator," Taylor said. "Or the next bullet goes through your skull."

Vane swayed. His face went pale. Blood dripped onto the platform and left dark spots on the rusted metal.

"I said step away," Taylor repeated.

But Vane was already falling. His knees buckled, and his body tilted backwards toward the edge of the platform.

His hand opened. The detonator started to slip.

Time slowed down. Vane's finger caught on the button as he fell. The red light flashing on. Taylor's eyes went wide with horror.

The detonator hit the platform with a metallic clink.

The button was pressed.

Taylor and I locked eyes. The hospital was miles away, but I could picture it. 

Five seconds passed.

Vane lay crumpled against the railing. Still breathing but barely conscious.

"Did it go off?" Taylor said

I bent down and picked up the detonator. Turned it over in my hands. The red light was on. The circuit was complete. 

"Victoria," I said into my earpiece. "Status on the hospital."

Her voice came through. "All clear. No explosion detected."

My knees went weak with relief. We had done it.

But something was wrong. Vane was smiling. 

"What?" I demanded. "What is it?"

Vane coughed. "Wrong bomb."

My blood turned to ice. "What do you mean, wrong bomb?"

"The hospital was never the real target." His voice was fading, but his eyes gleamed with triumph. "Just another distraction. To keep you all busy while my associates handled the actual mission."

Taylor grabbed him by the collar. "What mission? Where?"

Vane laughed. "Dalton is alone now."