Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE VEIL
Roman led Maya toward the wine cellar.
Viktor walked beside them.
Two armed guards followed.
Sarah remained in the elevator.
The collar forced her to stand perfectly still.
Maya looked back once.
Her mother tried to smile.
It made everything worse.
The service corridor smelled of jasmine and smoke.
The same scent Maya had noticed near the cake.
Roman stopped beside the cellar door.
A keypad glowed red.
Maya held the metal key.
There was no keyhole.
Viktor examined the frame.
“Biometric lock.”
Roman placed his hand against the scanner.
Access denied.
Maya remembered Elena’s words.
She stepped forward.
Roman blocked her.
“No.”
“The key belongs to my father.”
“So the door might belong to me.”
Roman looked at the collar feed on Viktor’s tablet.
Sarah had less than three minutes.
He moved aside.
Maya pressed the metal key against the black scanner.
The engraved wolf flashed blue.
The cellar door opened.
Cold air drifted out.
Rows of expensive wine disappeared into darkness.
A single chair stood beneath a hanging bulb.
Julian was tied to it.
His face was bruised.
His shirt was soaked with blood near the shoulder.
He lifted his head.
“Close the door.”
Roman raised his pistol.
“Where is Elena?”
Julian laughed weakly.
“You still think this is her plan?”
Maya stepped closer.
“Who put the device in the cake?”
“Elena.”
“Who told her to do it?”
Julian’s expression changed.
The bulb above him flickered.
He looked toward the darkest corner.
“Someone who has been waiting eight years.”
Roman followed his gaze.
“Elena’s father?”
Julian shook his head.
“Daniel Vance’s killer.”
A slow clap came from the shadows.
An older woman stepped into the light.
She wore a silver evening gown.
Her white hair was pinned neatly behind her head.
Maya recognized her.
She had been seated in the front row during the ceremony.
Roman lowered his pistol slightly.
“Mother.”
Maya looked at him.
The woman smiled.
Valentina Sokolov.
Roman’s mother.
The woman everyone believed had retired in Europe.
The woman who controlled half the charities in Chicago.
The woman whose portrait hung above the grand staircase.
Valentina looked at Maya.
“You have your father’s eyes.”
Maya gripped the key.
“You killed him.”
Valentina smiled.
“Your father killed himself the moment he chose loyalty over survival.”
Roman’s face went rigid.
“You told me Daniel died before you arrived.”
“He did.”
“You said the shooter escaped.”
“He did not.”
Roman’s voice cracked with controlled fury.
“You lied to me.”
Valentina’s smile remained.
“I protected you.”
“You protected your empire.”
“They are the same thing.”
Julian pulled against the ropes.
“She used all of us.”
Valentina glanced at him.
“You were expensive.”
“You were never intelligent.”
Julian’s jaw tightened.
Roman stepped forward.
“Release Sarah.”
Valentina held up a small remote.
A red button glowed beneath her thumb.
Maya stopped breathing.
Valentina looked at the key.
“Give me what your father stole.”
Maya held it tighter.
“No.”
The cellar door slammed shut behind them.
Steel panels dropped over the wine racks.
Gas began hissing through the ceiling vents.
Viktor raised his weapon.
Valentina pressed the remote halfway.
On the tablet, Sarah’s collar tightened.
Roman lifted one hand.
“Stop.”
Valentina looked pleased.
“You finally learned to listen.”
Maya’s eyes watered as the gas thickened.
Roman moved in front of her.
“What does the key open?”
Valentina’s gaze sharpened.
“The room beneath this cellar.”
“And what is inside?”
“The names of every judge, senator, officer and businessman your family bought.”
Roman stared at her.
Valentina smiled.
“Including yours.”
Then Maya heard a clicking sound beneath Julian’s chair.
May you like
A countdown appeared on the floor.
Thirty seconds.
