The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 474

hapter 474 Father And Son At Gunpoint

Chapter 474 Father And Son At Gunpoint

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Julius had arrived! The realization slammed into Quinn like a sudden gust rolling off the midnight surf, cold and undeniable.

She knew from Gavin’s brief call after Julius woke that he would come, yet she had imagined hours–maybe days–before he found this forsaken stretch of coast.

Now, sooner than logic allowed, he stepped out of the shadows, boots crunching over broken shells, the moon outlining the set of his shoulders.

In the instant their eyes locked, she understood: only after finishing the errand she begged of him had he sped here, the barrel–edge urgency of that promise still clinging to him like salt on skin.

“Well, splendid–looks as if the whole cast has finally assembled.” Joaquin’s laugh cracked through the night, jagged and bright. He cocked his own pistol and pressed its muzzle against Lena’s temple, the gesture almost casual, the threat anything but.

“Quinn, one sacrifice will satisfy me. Trade your life for hers, and I’ll let this woman walk away. Remember–she saved your brother, she is the woman he loves. When she is dead, what do you suppose that will do to Rowan?”

“Joaquin, let Lena go. I’ll take her place–she’s innocent!” Rowan shouted, voice raw against the rushing tide.

Joaquin ignored Rowan entirely, eyes fixed on Quinn. “Tell me, dear girl, what will you choose? Save your brother’s beloved and forfeit yourself? If you do, my dim–witted son over there will be ruined–utterly ruined.” His laughter rolled again, manic and hollow.

Quinn turned, her gaze colliding with Julius‘ across the wavering distance.

Expressionless, Julius lifted his firearm, sighting down the barrel at Joaquin. “No one takes her life. Not even she has that right.”

“So you intend to kill me–your own father?” Joaquin asked, eyes glittering with something perilously close to delight. “Which bullet flies faster, yours or mine? If you shoot, Quinn will despise you until her last breath.”

Silence froze the gathering like frost on glass; only Joaquin’s eerie laughter scratched at the edges.

Quinn lunged, palm slamming over Julius‘ gun, forcing the barrel earthward. “Julius, don’t— please, don’t pull that trigger!”

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19:22 Mon, Oct 13

Chapter 474 Father And Son At Gumpoint

His gaze drifted to her face, flat and fathomless. “You truly mean to trade

your life?”

She could not answer. The wordless ache lodged behind her tongue said enough.

A film of bleakness settled over Julius‘ eyes, as though every star had gone out at once.

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“You asked me to trust you–is this how you prove worthy of that trust?” His voice was low, ragged, every syllable a broken shell beneath bare feet.

From the beginning, all he had prayed for was her safety, nothing more, nothing grander. Yet here she stood, ready to spend her heartbeat like loose coin.

Quinn bit down on her lip hard enough to taste metal. “There has to be another way. We’ll find it.”

“There is another way–he dies.” Julius tore free of her grip, sighting once more on Joaquin, the barrel steady as a verdict.

“Julius!” Quinn’s cry lashed the air. “Don’t shoot. Whatever happens–no shots.”

His face hardened, moonlight carving the resolve into stone.

Joaquin’s laughter rose again, echoing off black water. “See? Love her as hard as you like; it changes nothing. You are never her first choice. Blood matters more. She would let you burn to save a stranger with no shared name.”

The taunt, carried on the damp, briny wind, grated worse than rusted chains.

Julius‘ stare turned lethal. “Shut your mouth.”

“You are my son, Julius, and so your fate mirrors mine,” Joaquin purred. “Your mother abandoned me; this woman will abandon you. She knows if she dies, you will lose your mind, yet she still offers herself. Tell me that is love.”

Julius‘ lips pressed into a bloodless line, his complexion ghost–pale against the moon.

“Quinn, will you discard me?” he asked, the words little more than breath.

The question slipped from a throat so tight it sounded like the echo of a dying tide.

“No.” Quinn’s voice did not waver. “I told you once, and I’ll tell you again—I am not your mother, and you are not your father. Whatever fate bound them together does not decide ours. We are different.”

Julius‘ shoulders jerked as if an unseen current had run through him. His bright, hawk–sharp

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