Chapter 5 - Ten Minutes to Save the Black Crown
Roman had spent years believing he could control any crisis.
He had guns.
Money.
Men.
Connections.
But none of those things could hear the hidden frequency Evan had discovered.
The detonator was connected to eleven charges.
Roman and his team had to find every one.
They returned to the Black Crown through an underground freight tunnel.
The casino was already in chaos.
Guests were being evacuated.
Security alarms screamed.
People ran through corridors.
Roman saw smoke rising from the east wing.
“Where is Trent?”
“Missing.”
“Victor?”
“Missing.”
Roman clenched his jaw.
Meera held Evan's hand.
A security guard approached.
“Boss, we've cleared the casino floor.”
Roman looked at him.
“You're loyal?”
The guard nodded.
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
The guard handed him his weapon.
“You can shoot me if you think I'm lying.”
Roman studied him.
Then nodded.
“Stay with Meera.”
The guard took position.
Evan pointed upward.
“Not there.”
Roman looked up.
“What?”
“People are upstairs.”
Roman asked, “How many?”
“Lots.”
He listened.
“Eight.”
Roman frowned.
“Security?”
“No.”
“Hostages?”
Evan nodded.
They found eight employees trapped in a service corridor.
The door had been electronically locked.
Roman smashed the control panel.
A woman fell into Meera's arms.
“Thank you.”
Roman asked, “Who locked this?”
“We don't know.”
Evan walked to the wall.
He placed his ear against it.
“Bomb.”
Roman's eyes narrowed.
Everyone backed away.
Evan pointed beneath a pipe.
Roman's explosives expert inspected it.
A device.
Connected.
“Fourth charge.”
Roman looked at the clock.
Six minutes.
Five remained.
They found another in the kitchen.
Another beneath the stage.
Another inside the ventilation system.
Two in the parking garage.
The seventh was in the executive elevator.
Roman stared at it.
The same place where the trap had begun.
Evan suddenly cried.
“Don't open it!”
Roman stopped.
“Why?”
“It's a trick.”
The explosives expert scanned the system.
Then swore.
“The door is wired.”
The elevator had become a secondary trigger.
If Roman entered, the charges would activate.
They bypassed it.
Four minutes.
The eighth device was in the security room.
But the ninth could not be found.
Evan started shaking.
“It's moving.”
Roman frowned.
“What?”
“The sound.”
He pointed toward the service elevator.
“It's going down.”
Roman realized the bomb was moving through the building.
A portable charge.
Someone was carrying it.
They rushed downstairs.
A man in a maintenance uniform ran toward the basement.
Roman chased him.
The man turned.
Gunfire.
Roman ducked.
The man escaped through a tunnel.
Meera grabbed Evan.
Roman followed.
They entered the hidden operations room.
Victor stood there.
The final detonator in his hand.
Trent stood beside him.
So did a third person.
Roman froze.
Evelyn.
His aunt stood next to Victor.
“You.”
Evelyn looked at him sadly.
“You still don't understand.”
Roman raised his gun.
“You betrayed me.”
“No.”
Victor laughed.
“She's finally telling you the truth.”
Roman stared.
Evelyn stepped forward.
“I built the original network.”
Roman's face hardened.
“Why?”
“To protect this family.”
Victor interrupted.
“To control it.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You always wanted power.”
“And you always wanted a puppet.”
Roman's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
Evelyn explained.
Years ago, his father had created the criminal empire.
When Roman became an adult, he threatened to dismantle it.
Evelyn feared the family would lose everything.
So she created a secret organization that monitored Roman.
Victor infiltrated it.
Then he turned against her.
He killed Adrian.
He manipulated Trent.
He sabotaged the hotel.
And now he planned to kill Roman and blame the destruction on Evelyn.
Victor smiled.
“Almost.”
Roman looked at the detonator.
“What happens now?”
Victor pressed a button.
Nothing.
Evan laughed softly.
Roman looked at him.
“What?”
“The blue wire.”
The explosives expert rushed forward.
“There isn't a blue wire.”
Evan pointed.
“Behind the wall.”
They discovered a hidden relay.
Victor's face changed.
Roman moved.
He disarmed Victor.
Trent reached for his gun.
Meera screamed.
Roman tackled him.
The room erupted.
When it ended, Victor lay on the floor.
Trent was restrained.
Evelyn stood trembling.
Roman looked at her.
“Why did you let this happen?”
She cried.
“Because I thought I could control him.”
Roman shook his head.
“No one controls men like Victor.”
Evelyn nodded.
“I know now.”
The police arrived shortly afterward.
Evidence from the underground room exposed the entire conspiracy.
Victor confessed to tampering with the elevator.
Trent admitted helping him.
Several guards were arrested.
The Black Crown survived.
But Roman wasn't finished.
Adrian's files remained.
There were still hidden accounts.
Still missing evidence.
And one final message.
Roman found it inside the old key Evelyn had given him.
A handwritten note.
Your brother did not die because of Victor.
He died because someone in your own family sold him.
Roman stared at the words.
Then looked at Evelyn.
“Who?”
She closed her eyes.
“My father.”
May you like
Roman's heart stopped.
The conspiracy went back even further.
