Chapter 7 - Nora Refused to Beg While Arthur's Enemy Tried to Break Her
Nora was taken to an abandoned theater.
Thomas Kane sat across from her.
“You're surprisingly calm.”
“I'm trying to decide whether you're stupid or desperate.”
He smiled.
“You're just like him.”
“I'll take that as a compliment.”
Thomas leaned forward.
“You found things you weren't supposed to find.”
“I found a lot of things.”
“You don't understand what you've uncovered.”
“I understand enough.”
Thomas stood.
“You think Arthur cares about you?”
Nora laughed.
“He sent me a thirty-page employee handbook.”
Thomas blinked.
“What?”
“He cares about rules.”
Thomas shook his head.
“You're going to die for him.”
Nora looked him in the eyes.
“No.”
She smiled.
“You're going to lose to him.”
Meanwhile, Arthur entered the theater.
Alone.
Thomas's men surrounded him.
“Drop the cane.”
Arthur didn't move.
“I know how many of you there are.”
They laughed.
Arthur listened.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
He knew where they stood.
Because blindness had taught him something sight never could.
People made noise.
Breathing.
Clothing.
Shoes.
Heartbeats.
Arthur moved.
Within seconds, the men were down.
Thomas stared.
“You can't see.”
Arthur raised his head.
“No.”
“Then how?”
“I listen.”
Thomas ran.
Arthur followed.
Nora escaped her restraints using a piece of broken metal.
She found the control room.
There were security cameras.
One showed Arthur.
Another showed Thomas.
She switched on the theater's emergency lights.
Arthur saw nothing.
But he heard Thomas move.
Nora shouted:
“Arthur! Left!”
Arthur turned.
Thomas fired.
Arthur dropped.
The bullet struck his shoulder.
Nora screamed.
Thomas ran.
Arthur rose.
Blood soaked his shirt.
“I'm okay.”
“You're bleeding!”
“Again.”
Nora ran to him.
“You're impossible.”
“I've been told.”
They found the final evidence.
Thomas had been working with Samuel Voss.
But Samuel had one final target.
Nora.
Because she had discovered the financial pattern.
Arthur realized the truth.
“She wasn't chosen randomly.”
Nora looked at him.
“What?”
“Your employment agency.”
He froze.
“Someone sent you to me.”
Nora's face changed.
“My agency?”
“They knew you'd find the discrepancies.”
“They wanted me near you.”
Arthur nodded.
“And they expected you to discover B-17.”
Nora whispered:
“So the entire thing was planned.”
“Yes.”
“And my debt?”
Arthur looked at her.
“What about it?”
“The agency offered me triple pay because they knew I couldn't refuse.”
Arthur's face hardened.
“They engineered your desperation.”
Nora stared.
“They used me.”
Arthur stepped closer.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“They used your courage.”
Then the lights went out.
A voice echoed through the theater.
Samuel Voss.
“Arthur Kane.”
Arthur turned toward the sound.
May you like
“It's time you finally saw the truth.”
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