CHAPTER 6 – THE TRAITOR INSIDE STEEL GLOBAL
CHAPTER 6 – THE TRAITOR INSIDE STEEL GLOBAL
Morning arrived, but no one inside the mansion slept.
The flash drive changed everything.
Ryker gathered his closest advisors around the conference table.
Only five people entered.
He trusted every one of them.
Or at least...
He thought he did.
Without warning, Ryker placed Daniel Carter's video on the large screen.
Silence filled the room.
One executive's face slowly lost all color.
Victor Lang.
Chief Operations Officer.
A man who had worked beside Ryker for fifteen years.
Victor forced a laugh.
"This has to be fake."
Ryker calmly slid a folder across the table.
"It isn't."
Inside were bank transfers totaling thirty-eight million dollars.
Every payment traced to offshore accounts.
Every account connected to Victor.
The room went silent.
Victor suddenly stood.
"You don't understand."
"No," Ryker replied.
"I understand perfectly."
"You sold your loyalty."
"You helped murder a father."
"And last night..."
"You sent armed men into my home while two children were sleeping."
Victor's composure shattered.
"You have no proof I ordered the attack!"
Ryker smiled coldly.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
Marco opened the conference room doors.
Federal investigators stepped inside.
Behind them came two detectives from the airport case.
One carried a recording device.
"The phones in this room have been monitored since sunrise," Ryker said.
"You called your partners thirty-two minutes ago."
"You warned them the flash drive still existed."
Victor's knees nearly gave out.
He whispered,
"You planned this."
Ryker stood.
"I've been planning it since the moment two frightened children took my hand at O'Hare."
The investigators handcuffed Victor.
As they led him away, he suddenly laughed.
"You think this is over?"
"You have no idea who you're fighting."
"There are people above me."
"They'll never let those twins live."
The doors closed behind him.
An uneasy silence followed.
Ryker turned toward the security monitors.
Lily and Owen were outside in the estate garden.
For the first time since their father died...
They were laughing.
Watching butterflies chase each other across the flowers.
Ryker smiled for only a second.
Then his phone vibrated.
A private number.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke only one sentence.
"You arrested the wrong man."
The call disconnected.
Seconds later...
Every screen in Ryker's command center went black.
When they came back online...
A single message filled every monitor.
WE'RE COMING FOR THE TWINS TONIGHT.
Ryker stared at the screen.
May you like
This wasn't a threat anymore.
It was a declaration of war.
