The rain beat hard against the tall glass windows of the coastal estate.

Outside, the gray sky bled into the dark Atlantic.

I wiped the mahogany desk in the study with a yellow microfiber cloth.

I kept my eyes on the driveway below.

Downstairs, the heavy front door clicked open.

Victor was back two hours early from his meeting at the docks.

I heard his heavy, limping tread on the marble stairs.

He was seventy years old, but his footsteps still carried weight.

Then I heard another sound.

It was the soft creak of floorboards coming from the library next door.

It was too light to be one of the regular security guards.

I slipped behind the heavy velvet drapes near the window.

I reached under my white maid’s apron and drew my Glock from its holster.

The study door opened.

Victor walked in, shaking the rain from his dark wool coat.

Marcus stepped out of the library shadows.

“You’re home early, Uncle,” Marcus said.

His voice was flat and cold.

“The meeting was canceled,” Victor said.

“I know,” Marcus said. “I canceled it.”

I peered through the small gap in the curtains.

Marcus held a silver revolver in his right hand.

Two of his personal guards stood behind him, their coats open, hands on their holsters.

“What is this, Marcus?” Victor asked.

His voice did not shake, but his hand gripped his cane tighter.

“It is retirement,” Marcus said.

“I built this family,” Victor said. “I made you.”

“And you lived too long,” Marcus replied.

He raised the revolver and aimed it directly at his uncle’s chest.

I did not hesitate.

I stepped out from behind the drapes.

I fired twice.

The first bullet hit the guard on the left in the shoulder.

The second caught the guard on the right in the chest, sending him crashing into a glass display case.

The glass shattered, raining down on the carpet.

“Federal Agent!” I shouted. “Drop the weapon!”

Marcus spun toward me, his eyes wide.

“The maid?” he whispered.

He fired a wild shot that tore through the plaster inches from my head.

I dove behind the heavy leather armchair as the room erupted.