Chapter 5 - The Warehouse
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The warehouse was exactly how I remembered it.
Rusty. Abandoned. Smelling of salt and decay.
Dad used to bring us here when we were kids. Told us it was a "family business." We didn't understand then. We were too young.
Now I understood.
Victor was already there. Standing in the middle of the floor. Two men behind him. Muscle. Silent.
"Marcus. Good to see you."
"Wish I could say the same."
He smiled. That same empty smile.
"The ledger."
I held up the briefcase. "It's in here."
"Give it to me."
"First, tell me something."
"What?"
"Why did you do it? Why did you kill those people?"
His smile faded. For a moment, just a moment, I saw something else. Something human.
"Because Dad asked me to."
"He asked you to kill people?"
"He asked me to protect the family. By any means necessary."
"That's not the same thing."
"Isn't it?" He stepped closer. "You think Dad was innocent? You think he was a good man?"
"He was our father."
"He was a criminal. A murderer. He built an empire on blood. And when people threatened that empire, he had them killed."
"And you were his weapon."
"I was his son." His voice cracked. "I did what he asked. I did everything he asked. And what did I get?"
"What?"
"Nothing. He left everything to you. The business. The money. The ledger. You. The son who ran away. The son who wanted nothing to do with him."
"I didn't want it."
"But you got it anyway. And now you're going to give it to me."
I looked at him. My brother. The killer. The victim.
"No."
"What?"
"I'm not giving you the ledger."
His face twisted. "You don't have a choice."
"I have a choice. And I choose to stop this. To stop you."
He laughed. But there was no humor in it.
"You can't stop me, Maya. I'm stronger than you. I'm smarter than you. I've been playing this game for twenty years."
"The game's over."
I opened the briefcase.
Inside wasn't the ledger.
It was a recording device. Already on. Already transmitting.
Sarah's voice came through the speakers. "We got it. All of it."
Victor's face went white.
"You—"
"Cops are on their way. You're done, Victor."
He lunged for me.
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