Chapter 9 - The BetrayalGunfire erupted.
Lucas fired back.
Adrian pulled Sophia and Emma behind the counter.
Thomas crawled toward the kitchen.
The attackers moved quickly.
Professional.
Silent.
They were not trying to kill everyone.
They were trying to capture someone.
Adrian realized who.
Thomas.
“Move!” he shouted.
Lucas covered them.
They escaped through the back door.
Rain poured.
Cars screeched around the corner.
Adrian pushed Sophia into the sedan.
Emma climbed after her.
Thomas sat beside Lucas.
“Where are we going?” Sophia asked.
“Somewhere they can't find us.”
Thomas laughed bitterly.
“They'll find you.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Not if we change every route.”
Thomas shook his head.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“They don't want the ledger.”
Adrian frowned.
“What do they want?”
“You.”
Silence.
Thomas continued.
“Your father built his empire around one secret.”
“What secret?”
“He discovered the people controlling his organization weren't criminals.”
Adrian stared.
“They were investors.”
“Investors?”
“International financiers. Political figures. Shipping magnates. Men who never touched the dirt.”
“Then why use people like Graham?”
“Because men like Graham could be replaced.”
Adrian looked at the road.
“And my father?”
“He tried to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because he realized you were being trained to inherit the organization without knowing who owned it.”
Adrian shook his head.
“My father controlled everything.”
“No.”
Thomas looked at him.
“He controlled what they allowed him to control.”
Adrian's phone rang.
Vincent Hale.
He answered.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
Vincent laughed.
“You've always had a talent for believing that word.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to stop investigating.”
“No.”
“Then Sophia dies.”
Adrian's expression changed.
Vincent continued.
“Emma too.”
Adrian tightened his grip.
“Touch them and I'll burn everything.”
“That is exactly what we want.”
“What?”
“Panic.”
The call ended.
Adrian looked at Thomas.
“What does panic do?”
Thomas answered:
“It makes you trust the wrong person.”
Adrian slowly turned toward Lucas.
Lucas was driving.
Calm.
Focused.
Almost too calm.
Adrian remembered the original payroll.
Lucas Reed.
A black circle beside his name.
Adrian's hand moved toward his weapon.
Lucas noticed.
“You think it's me.”
Adrian said nothing.
Thomas suddenly shouted:
“Don't!”
The sedan swerved.
A truck slammed into them.
Glass shattered.
The car spun.
Sophia screamed.
Emma vanished beneath the seats.
Adrian reached for her.
Then everything went black.
When Adrian opened his eyes, the sedan was upside down.
Lucas was bleeding.
Sophia was unconscious.
Thomas was gone.
And Emma was missing.
Adrian crawled through broken glass.
“Emma!”
Nothing.
Then his phone rang.
A message appeared.
You were warned.
Below it was a photograph.
Emma sitting in a chair.
May you like
Someone's hand rested on her shoulder.
The sleeve belonged to a man wearing a silver ring.
