Page 177 of The Hunter's Empire

"Rightfully yours?" I ask, unable to keep the disgust from my voice. "You murdered your own father. You betrayed everyone who ever trusted you. Don't stand there pretending any of this was earned."

His face hardens.

"My father never saw you as his successor." I continue. "Neither did Mikkel. They both knew exactly what you were."

Rage flashes across his face. He closes the distance in an instant, catching me before I can move away. The force of the impact sends me stumbling across the office, pain shooting through my ribs as I collide with the edge of a cabinet. I barely regain my balance before he's on me again.

Every instinct takes over. I give ground only when I have to, refusing to meet his strength head-on. He's larger than I am, stronger too, but every attack becomes more reckless than the last. His frustration grows with every missed strike, every failed attempt to overpower me. I answer with quick counters whenever he leaves an opening, forcing him to work harder for every advantage.

"You've got technique." Tobias says through clenched teeth, breathing noticeably harder now. "But eventually you'll run out of room."

I circle away, refusing to let him corner me.

"No." I reply evenly. "You'll run out of control."

Behind us, Nico remains exactly where he is, watching with complete confidence. He doesn't interfere. He doesn't need to.

"Careful, Tobias." He says conversationally. "She's starting to enjoy herself."

Tobias shoots him a murderous glare before turning back to me. "You think this is amusing?"

Nico shrugs. "Compared to your speech about destiny and inheritance? Absolutely."

The words only make Tobias angrier. With a frustrated roar, he charges again.

I sidestep at the last possible moment, using his own momentum against him. He stumbles, and this time I don't hesitate. I drive him to the floor before he can recover, refusing to let him regain the advantage. He struggles beneath me, but every movement grows weaker than the last.

"You've spent your entire life believing power comes from fear," I say, holding his gaze. "That's why you'll never deserve any of it."

His breathing grows uneven as he stares back at me, bloodied, exhausted, and still clinging to the same arrogance that brought him here in the first place.

"You don't understand…"

"I understand perfectly."

Silence settles over the ruined office. The only sounds are our uneven breaths and the distant echo of alarms somewhere far below us.

Around us, the office bears the scars of the fight. Overturned furniture, shattered glass scattered across the floor, documents drifting through pools of water from the broken sprinklers, and blood staining the carpet that only hours ago had belonged to an ordinary working day.

Nico finally rises from the sofa, a quiet smile crossing his face as his eyes meet mine. "I knew you could do it, Elf."

I see uncertainty flicker across Tobias’s face. Not regret. Not remorse. Just the realization that the ending he had imagined for this day is slipping through his fingers.

"This doesn't change anything." He says, though the conviction in his voice has disappeared. "The empire should've been mine."

I look down at him for a long moment.

"No." I say quietly. "You wanted ownership. You never understood responsibility."

The office falls silent again. Then I raise the gun.

His expression changes instantly as the reality of the moment finally catches up with him. I don't hesitate.

The gunshot echoes through the shattered office, and with it dies the last threat hanging over everything dad left behind.

For the first time since this nightmare began, I allow myself to breathe.

The pistol feels impossibly heavy in my hand as I lower it to my side. Around us, the office is eerily quiet. The fight is over. Tobias is dead. The armed men outside will surrender eventually. The empire is still standing. And somehow… I survived.