PART 12 — The Climax
My heart skipped a beat. The hustle and bustle of the crowded Rotterdam station suddenly seemed to fade into a dull background noise. There, less than twenty meters away, stood my son. His gaze was no longer that of the confident politician, nor that of the broken man in handcuffs. It was the wild, desperate gaze of a hunted animal with nothing left to lose.
"Maria! Are you listening to me?" Inspector De Vos's voice shouted through the phone. "Take cover! We're sending a team to the station immediately!"
"He… he's here, De Vos," I whispered panickedly, trying to conceal myself behind a group of travelers. "He's on the platform!"
Julian took a step in my direction. I saw that he kept his right hand inside his jacket pocket. I knew what was in that pocket. He hadn't come to talk.
"Maria, run to the main exit! Stay among the crowd!" De Vos called out.
I didn't hesitate for a second. I turned around and forced my way through the stream of commuters just stepping off the train. "Excuse me! Pardon me!" I shouted, pushing people aside.
Behind me, I heard hurried footsteps and an angry shout: "Mother! Stop right there!"
I didn't look back. I ran as fast as my 67-year-old legs could carry me, down the escalator to the station's central hall. Fear gave me an adrenaline rush, but my lungs burned with exertion.
I had to warn Hannah! If Julian knew about her existence, her flower shop would be the first place he went once he eliminated me.
While running, I tried to punch Hannah's shop number into my phone, but my trembling fingers kept hitting the wrong keys.
I reached the bustling station hall. Hundreds of people were running crisscross. I dashed into a large bookstore and hid behind a tall magazine rack. I stopped panting, holding my hand to my chest.
Through the glass storefront, I saw Julian storm into the central hall. He looked around wildly, his eyes sweeping across the crowd. He didn't see me.
Quickly, I finally dialed Hannah's correct number. After three rings, she picked up.
"De Buitenhof, Hannah speaking," her calm voice sounded.
"Hannah! Listen to me very carefully!" I whispered. "Close the shop! Lock the doors and go to the back! Now!"
"Maria…? What's wrong? Why do you sound so panicked?"
"Julian has escaped!" I cried softly. "He knows who you are! He's in Rotterdam!"
A brief silence followed on the other end of the line, followed by the sound of the shop door being locked. "I'm locking up," Hannah said with a remarkably calm voice. "But Maria… where are you?"
"I'm at the station. I'm trying to distract him…"
At that moment, I felt an ice-cold grip on my shoulder. A powerful hand snatched the phone from my hand and smashed the device onto the stone floor of the bookstore. The screen shattered into a thousand pieces.
I turned around slowly.
Julian was standing right in front of me. His face was lean, his eyes bloodshot. "Who were you telling that to, Mother?" he asked in a hoarse, croaking voice. "My 'new' sister?"
"Julian… please," I pleaded. "It's over. Give yourself up. You're only making it worse."
Julian laughed bitterly. "Worse? My life is already in ruins! I've lost everything! My career, my money, my reputation! And all because of Father's foolish heritage and your meddling!"
He grabbed my upper arm and shoved me roughly ahead of him, out of the bookstore toward a quieter side exit of the station where the taxis were parked.
"You're going to take me to that flower shop," he hissed in my ear while pressing the tip of a knife hidden under his jacket against my side. "She must have gotten things from Father, too. Money, documents… I need money to get out of the country!"
"She has nothing!" I cried out. "She didn't even know who her father was until today!"
"We'll find that out ourselves," Julian said coldly.
We stepped onto the rainy street. Julian pushed me toward an alley leading to the flower shop street. The street was quiet; most people had taken cover from the heavy downpours inside the shops.
We reached Hannah's shop. The curtains were still drawn and the door was locked, just as I had instructed her.
Julian slammed his shoulder against the wooden door. "Open up! Hannah! I know you're in there!"
No answer.
Julian cursed and grabbed a heavy paving stone from the planter next to the shop. He drew back and smashed the glass of the door into a thousand pieces. He reached his hand through the broken window and unlocked the lock from the inside.
He pushed me into the dark, silent shop first. "Hannah!" he roared. "Show yourself!"
The shop smelled of cut flowers and damp earth. There was no sign of Hannah.
Julian shoved me into the back room. "Where is she?!y"
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed behind us. The heavy wooden back door was slammed shut and bolted.
Out of the shadows of the stacked flower crates stepped not Hannah… but Inspector De Vos, along with four heavily armed SWAT agents!
"Drop your weapons! Now!" De Vos shouted, his pistol aimed squarely at Julian.
Julian froze. He looked around wildly. He realized he had walked into a trap. Hannah had called the police the moment I warned her, and De Vos had already stationed his men around the shop.
In a fit of total delusion, Julian grabbed me and pulled me in front of him as a human shield while holding the knife to my throat.
"Back off!" Julian screamed beside himself. "Let me go or I'll slit her throat!"
The agents stood motionless, their weapons aimed. The tension in the small back room was cutting.
I looked into the mirror of an old wardrobe on the wall. I saw my son's face—blinded by hatred and fear. And then I made a decision. I refused to be the victim any longer. I wanted this nightmare to stop once and for all.
I looked down at the floor. Right beside my foot stood a large, heavy vase of roses in ice-cold water.
I took a deep breath, lifted my foot, and brought my heel down with all my remaining strength onto the instep of Julian's foot…
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