Grandmother Moore's eyes flashed wide as she said barely discernible words. "Emily, be cautious. Prevent her from winning.
Emily clasped her grandmother's hand and held her carefully, tears welling in her eyes. She could tell that the person who had been her rock of strength was dying.
"Rhea, what have you done?" Emily inquired, her voice shaking with surprise and wrath.
Rhea smirked coldly and without sorrow. "Don't you want her to survive?" You will then follow my precise instructions. She won't make it without you."
Emily was confined. She knew she couldn't give in to Rhea's devious demands, but she also knew she couldn't let her grandma die. As Jake moved forward, the tension in the room was evident, and his eyes blazed with rage.
"Rhea, you've gone too far," Jake said in a quiet, ominous voice. "This ends now."
Rhea, nevertheless, was not about to give up. She wasn't going to give up; she'd come too far. Emily realized she needed to take immediate action to save her grandma and end Rhea's terrifying reign before things got out of hand. The situation was about to become out of control.
The lives of Emily and her adored grandma were in jeopardy as the argument had reached a breaking point.
***
Jake's men had already moved quickly and stealthily to neutralize the Shadow's agents waiting outside to carry out Rhea's perverse orders as the tension within Rhea's home approached its breaking point.
They eliminated everyone with such accuracy that there was no chance for resistance. However, the actual threat was still inside; Rhea held a gun and aimed it straight at Emily.
Emily stared down the barrel of the gun, her thoughts searching for a way out while her pulse raced in her chest.
Jake stood nearby, stunned by what was happening and preparing to take action if Rhea pulled the trigger.
Though he had experienced many risky situations, nothing prepared him for Emily's danger.
With his body tensed and his hands clinched, he was ready to move as the pistol was aimed at the woman he loved.
"Rhea, stop this!" With his eyes fixed on Rhea, Jake spoke quietly and frantically while attempting to reason with her.
"This is not necessary for you to do. Things can still be fixed."
However, Rhea's eyes were fierce with rage and desperation. "Fixed things? Tell me, Jake? By allowing her to leave after she ruined my life? She is the reason my father is dead! My closest friend is no longer with me! And now this is all I have left," she said, making frantic motions with the firearm.
"Emily needs to pay for everything!"
Emily gasped but held her ground and never took her eyes from Rhea's.
"This isn't the way, Rhea. Tragically, your father passed away, but you know this isn't what he would have wanted. He won't return with this. Nothing will change as a result."
Rhea's eyes glimmered with tears, but she held onto the gun firmly. She said, "It's too late for that," with a lot of emotion in her voice. "It's all gone too far."
***
The front door sprung open at that moment, and the sound of sirens broke through the tense calm.
Jacob Moore barged inside the house with the cops and his son Mark behind him. Officers poured in, quickly capturing the last thugs and eliminating any last danger, causing chaos.
Jake's guys collaborated with the police to apprehend Rhea's hired goons.
When Jacob saw Rhea standing with the gun, his powerful presence dominated the room.
Ordinarily kind and serene, his eyes were suddenly brimming with rage and sorrow. "Rhea put down the firearm. It's over."
Rhea, however, remained still and leveled the gun toward Emily, her fingers shaking. "No, it's not over. Not just yet."
Jacob moved ahead in a softer tone. "Yes, Rhea. Examine your surroundings. Nobody is left to stand up for you. This is not required of you. Your grandma is now safe. Could you give her a peaceful life? Permit yourself to live peacefully."
Rhea's mind raced between the crushing weight of truth and scorching wrath, causing her to breathe in ragged breaths.
She glanced at Emily, who seemed calm and had empathy instead of dread in her eyes.
Rhea's shoulders slumped beneath the weight of her loss as if all the fight had suddenly left her.
She let out a trembling breath and dropped the gun, letting her hand drop limp to her side, and began sobbing like a mad woman.
With lightning speed, the cops disarmed her and took her to the police station. Rhea did not struggle. It seemed as though she had nothing left to fight for the instant the pistol left her grasp.
Her gaze flickered to her grandmother, who was being gently taken out on a stretcher, pale and feeble but alive, as the cops took her away in handcuffs.
The instant the threat subsided, Jake raced to Emily's side and drew her into his arms. His voice tense with anxiety, he asked, "Are you okay?"
Emily leaned closer to him and nodded. "I am right now. I'm grateful, Jake."
Jacob Moore shook his head in shock, now seeing his ailing mother receive medical attention from paramedics.
He said, "I never thought it would come to this," as he observed his niece being driven away in the back of a police vehicle. "Rhea was lost, consumed by her hatred."
Despite her frailty, Grandmother Moore mustered a feeble smile as she raised her son in her gaze.
She said, her voice barely heard above the commotion of the emergency people, "She'll find her way back. We must forgive her, Emily, Mark, and Jacob. Do you understand?"
Jacob laid a kind hand on his mother's, tears welling in his eyes. "Mother, you've always had the most enormous heart. We'll see to it that you're taken care of right now. Then, we will discuss what to do with Rhea. After all, she's still a Moore."
Grandmother Moore was sent to the hospital right away for emergency care as soon as she was stabilized...~~