chapter 4
chapter 4
Alexander arrived at Vargas Holdings before sunrise.
The sixty-story headquarters overlooked Manhattan like a monument to success.
For the first time in years...
He didn't see opportunity.
He saw betrayal.
Every employee greeting him in the lobby suddenly became a possible suspect.
His executive team gathered in the boardroom.
Twelve people.
Lawyers.
Financial officers.
Project directors.
People he had trusted for years.
Alexander placed the silver cufflink on the table.
Silence filled the room.
“Last night,” he said calmly, “someone wearing one of these tried to kill a woman under police protection.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
“I want to know whose it is.”
The executives exchanged nervous glances.
Finally, Human Resources Director Emily Ross spoke.
“Every executive received matching cufflinks five years ago.”
“So everyone in this room owns one.”
Alexander nodded.
“Exactly.”
Detective Morales entered with two forensic officers.
“This meeting is now part of an active criminal investigation.”
Several executives looked offended.
One looked frightened.
His name was Victor Kane.
Chief Operations Officer.
Alexander's oldest business partner.
They had built the company together.
Victor laughed nervously.
“This is ridiculous.”
“You think one missing cufflink makes someone a criminal?”
Morales smiled.
“No.”
“But lying during an investigation does.”
She placed a photograph on the screen.
Security footage from the hospital parking garage.
A black sedan leaving ten minutes after the assassination attempt.
The license plate belonged to...
Vargas Holdings.
Victor's smile disappeared.
“I can explain that.”
Alexander stared at him.
“Then explain.”
Victor swallowed.
“I loaned the company car to someone.”
“To who?”
“I... don't remember.”
The room became painfully quiet.
Before Morales could question him further, every television inside the boardroom suddenly switched on by themselves.
The company network had been hacked.
A distorted voice filled the room.
“Good morning, Mr. Vargas.”
Every screen showed the same image.
A live video feed.
Hospital Room 614.
Where Isabella and Mateo were supposed to be resting.
The beds were empty.
Alexander stood so quickly his chair crashed backward.
“What is this?”
The distorted voice laughed.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
The screen changed again.
Now it showed Isabella and Mateo inside a moving white delivery van.
Both unconscious.
Hands tied.
Alexander's face turned white.
“No...”
“You wanted your past back,” the voice said.
“Now come earn it.”
A GPS location appeared on every monitor.
An abandoned shipyard on the Brooklyn waterfront.
“One hour.”
“Come alone.”
“Or the woman you love...”
“And the little boy who trusted you...”
“Disappear forever.”
The screens went black.
No one in the boardroom spoke.
Victor Kane slowly lowered his eyes.
Alexander noticed.
“You already knew,” he said.
Victor didn't answer.
Alexander grabbed him by the collar.
“You knew where they were!”
Victor whispered one sentence that froze everyone in the room.
“You have no idea who you're really fighting.”
Before anyone could stop him...
Victor bit down on something hidden inside one of his teeth.
Blood poured from his mouth.
The cyanide capsule worked instantly.
He collapsed onto the polished boardroom floor.
Dead before the ambulance could even be called.
Detective Morales stared at the body.
“This organization trains its people to die before talking.”
Alexander looked back at the dark television screens.
The countdown had already begun.
Fifty-eight minutes remained.
And somewhere inside an abandoned shipyard...
May you like
Mateo was waiting for the man who had promised...
He would never leave him again.
