Chapter 4 - The Night TrainThe abandoned station looked dead.
That was exactly why Lorenzo chose it.
Old brick walls.
Broken lamps.
Rusting tracks disappearing into darkness.
Nora followed him down a staircase that hadn't appeared on any public map.
At the bottom was a steel door.
There was a small lock beside it.
Lorenzo looked at Nora.
She handed him the brass key.
He inserted it.
Turned.
Click.
The door opened.
Cold air rolled over them.
Inside was a narrow corridor.
Lorenzo's men spread out.
Nobody spoke.
Then they heard music.
A soft piano melody.
Nora froze.
“No.”
“What?”
“That song.”
“What about it?”
“My brother used to play it.”
They entered the chamber.
There was a piano in the center.
A table.
Two chairs.
And a projector.
The machine flickered to life by itself.
A video appeared.
Lorenzo's father stood before the camera.
He looked younger.
But his expression was grave.
“If you're watching this,” he said, “I'm already dead.”
Nora covered her mouth.
Lorenzo stood motionless.
His father continued.
“I made choices I believed would protect my family.”
A pause.
“I was wrong.”
The video changed.
A younger Leo appeared.
Then Daniel.
Then a third man.
Lorenzo's eyes widened.
He knew him.
It was Victor Raines.
A respected businessman.
A man who had attended his father's funeral.
A man who had helped Lorenzo's family for years.
His father's voice continued.
“Victor knows where the money is.”
The footage showed stacks of files.
Shipping manifests.
Bank transfers.
Photographs.
Names.
Politicians.
Executives.
Judges.
Police officers.
The list seemed endless.
Nora whispered:
“What is this?”
“An empire.”
Lorenzo watched the screen.
His father's voice became quieter.
“Leo is not the leader.”
The video froze.
Then the lights went out.
Gunfire erupted.
Lorenzo dragged Nora behind the table.
His men returned fire.
Someone was inside the chamber.
Nora screamed when a bullet struck the piano.
Lorenzo fired toward the corridor.
A figure ran.
Two guards chased him.
Silence returned.
Lorenzo turned to Nora.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
Then she saw something under the piano.
A folder.
She crawled toward it.
Inside was one page.
A list of names.
At the bottom:
NORA VALE.
She stopped breathing.
Lorenzo took the paper.
Her name had been written beside a date.
Tomorrow.
Nora looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Lorenzo didn't answer.
He was staring at another line beneath her name.
TRANSFER COMPLETE AFTER SUBJECT IS ELIMINATED.
Nora's eyes filled with terror.
“They've been planning to kill me.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Lorenzo looked at the date.
Three years.
Since Daniel's death.
Then the hidden projector flashed again.
May you like
A final sentence appeared.
LORENZO IS NEXT.
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