Chapter 7 - The Betrayal That Saved Them
We escaped through a hidden tunnel beneath the safe house.
The passage was narrow and damp.
I could hear men searching above us.
Aleandro stayed behind me.
One hand on my shoulder.
Not controlling.
Guiding.
That distinction mattered.
Halfway through the tunnel, Vincent stopped.
"Someone has to stay behind."
"No," Aleandro said.
Vincent looked at him.
"They're going to follow."
"We all keep moving."
"They'll catch us."
Vincent pulled out a gun.
"I'll slow them down."
"No."
Aleandro grabbed his arm.
Vincent smiled.
"You've changed."
Aleandro stared at him.
"Maybe."
Vincent pushed him toward me.
"Then prove it."
He turned.
He started walking back.
Aleandro made a move to follow.
I stopped him.
"Let him."
He looked at me.
"This is your choice."
His jaw tightened.
Then he let Vincent go.
We reached the end of the tunnel and emerged into the woods.
A car waited.
Sofia was inside.
She hugged me when we climbed in.
"Where is my son?"
"He's coming."
A minute later, Aleandro appeared.
Alone.
Blood on his sleeve.
But alive.
"Vincent?"
"He made it."
I exhaled.
We drove.
Later that morning, Vincent called.
He had survived.
But he had been captured.
Rafael wanted a trade.
Vincent for me.
Aleandro looked at me.
"I won't."
I knew what he meant.
He wouldn't trade me.
Not even for the man who had saved his family.
"Then we'll find another way."
That became our plan.
David had one more piece of information.
Rafael was holding Vincent in a private club in Atlantic City.
We would go in publicly.
No guns.
No army.
Just me, Aleandro, and David.
The idea was insane.
But Rafael expected violence.
He didn't expect surrender.
At the club, Rafael greeted us with a smile.
"Emma Blake."
I looked at him.
"Rafael."
He laughed.
"You've grown."
"I had to."
Aleandro stood beside me.
"You wanted me."
Rafael's smile widened.
"I wanted the ledger."
"Then take it."
He placed the flash drive on the table.
Rafael glanced at it.
"What's the passphrase?"
"Little Blue."
He laughed.
"Your mother."
Sofia stepped into the room.
Rafael froze.
"You."
Sofia smiled.
"You always were terrible at finishing what you started."
Rafael's face changed.
Behind him, Vincent was brought into the room.
He was bruised but standing.
"You brought her here," Rafael said.
"She brought herself."
Aleandro's father appeared on a screen.
Antonio.
He looked older.
Tired.
But smiling.
"You should have stayed away, son."
Aleandro faced the screen.
"You should have stayed dead."
Antonio's expression hardened.
Rafael reached for the drive.
Sofia said one word.
"Don't."
He stopped.
"What?"
"The drive is encrypted."
Rafael looked at me.
"You know the key."
"No."
He raised his gun.
Aleandro stepped forward.
"Put it down."
Rafael pressed the barrel against my temple.
I didn't move.
For the first time, I wasn't afraid.
Because I finally understood.
He needed me alive.
That meant I had power.
"You can't kill me," I said.
Rafael frowned.
"Why?"
"Because if I die, the files go public."
His eyes widened.
David smiled.
"The upload was scheduled."
Rafael looked around.
Cameras.
Phones.
Live streams.
Evidence.
Everything he'd tried to hide was already moving.
Aleandro's men had contacted federal investigators.
David had sent the documents to a journalist.
Sofia had released her files.
Rafael was trapped.
He lowered his weapon.
Then Antonio's voice came through the speakers.
"Kill them all."
May you like
The lights went out.
Gunfire erupted.
