Chapter 6 - The Betrayal That Came From Inside
Julian Cross returned to the penthouse as if nothing had happened.
He arrived at noon carrying coffee.
He smiled at the guards.
He entered Elias's office.
And he froze when he saw Elias waiting.
"You look tired."
Elias didn't answer.
Julian placed the coffee on the desk.
"I assume the Silas situation was unpleasant."
Elias looked at him.
"You knew?"
"Knew what?"
"That Silas was alive."
Julian smiled.
"Of course not."
"You're lying."
The smile vanished.
Elias stood.
Marcus locked the door.
Julian glanced around.
"What's this?"
"You've been stealing from me."
"No."
"You've been moving money through shell accounts."
"No."
"You've been feeding information to the Raven Club."
Julian's expression changed.
But only slightly.
"You don't believe that."
Elias threw the microfilm onto the desk.
Julian looked at it.
Then laughed.
"You finally found it."
Marcus raised his weapon.
Elias did not.
He simply stared.
"How long?"
Julian sighed.
"Sixteen years."
Elias's chest tightened.
"Since my father?"
"Before your father's death."
"Did you kill him?"
"No."
"Daniel?"
"No."
"Margaret?"
Julian said nothing.
Elias's eyes hardened.
"You killed her."
"I protected the organization."
"You killed her."
"She was going to destroy everything."
"And my father?"
"He was going to expose me."
"But you didn't kill him."
Julian nodded.
"Silas did."
Elias froze.
"You."
Julian smiled sadly.
"You never understood your family."
He explained the truth.
Gabriel Mercer had discovered the Raven Club's infiltration.
He tried to destroy it.
Julian had secretly joined the club years earlier.
Daniel discovered the transactions.
Margaret discovered Julian.
Silas discovered everything.
And then Silas betrayed Gabriel to save himself.
But someone else controlled Silas.
The real leader.
A person nobody had suspected.
Nakia.
Elias looked at her.
She was standing in the doorway.
Julian smiled.
"The girl isn't innocent."
Nakia's face went white.
"What?"
Julian continued.
"Your father didn't just protect you."
He turned toward her.
"He trained you."
"No."
"You were ten years old when he began teaching you numbers, codes, patterns."
Nakia shook her head.
"I don't remember."
"He made sure you wouldn't."
Elias looked at Julian.
"What are you saying?"
"Daniel knew he would die."
He turned back to Nakia.
"So he hid the location of the evidence inside her memory."
Nakia pressed a hand to her temple.
Images flashed.
A red door.
A desk.
A woman.
A song.
A black crow.
She gasped.
Elias caught her before she fell.
Julian watched.
"She remembers now."
Nakia whispered, "The red door."
Elias looked at her.
"What?"
"My father had a room."
"What room?"
"I don't know."
Julian laughed.
"The final records are there."
"Where?"
"Mercer Tower."
Elias stared.
His own headquarters.
The room had been sealed for fourteen years.
No one had entered since his father died.
Julian suddenly reached for his weapon.
Marcus fired.
Julian dropped.
But before he died, he smiled.
"You've already lost."
Elias looked toward Nakia.
"What does that mean?"
A distant explosion shook the building.
Marcus ran to the window.
"Mercer Tower."
Smoke rose over downtown.
The old family building was on fire.
Elias understood.
Julian had been buying time.
The records were being destroyed.
Nakia grabbed his hand.
May you like
"Come on."
They ran.
