Chapter 11 - Everybody Betrays Somebody
Caroline fired.
Dominic shoved me down.
The bullet hit the metal shelf.
He fired back.
Caroline ducked and ran.
“Stay here!” Dominic shouted.
He chased her.
I grabbed Marcus.
“No more staying.”
I pulled him toward the back exit.
The storage facility alarm screamed.
Sprinklers exploded overhead.
Caroline had triggered the fire system.
Water poured down.
People shouted upstairs.
Then I heard Dominic yell.
I turned.
Caroline had him at gunpoint.
“Drop it!” she shouted.
Dominic slowly lowered his weapon.
“Caroline.”
“Move away from the case.”
I held Marcus behind me.
Caroline looked at me.
“Bring it.”
“No.”
Her gun shifted toward Marcus.
Dominic’s face became murderous.
“Point that gun at him again and I swear—”
“You swear what?” Caroline snapped. “You’ll kill me? Welcome to the club.”
Her hands trembled.
She was scared.
Angry.
Desperate.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“The archive.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor isn’t the only monster in those files.”
Dominic stared at her.
“You’re protecting someone.”
“My father.”
Silence.
She laughed bitterly.
“You don’t even know his name, do you?”
Dominic said nothing.
“Detective Michael Reeves.”
Dominic’s expression shifted.
I had heard the name.
A decorated police commander.
News interviews.
Charity events.
Caroline continued.
“He worked for Victor. He took money. Covered investigations. Made bodies disappear.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“He was dirty. I know that.”
“Then why protect him?” Dominic asked.
“Because he has two grandkids who think he’s a hero.”
Dominic shook his head.
“That doesn’t erase what he did.”
“No. But destroying everyone in those files doesn’t make you righteous either.”
Dominic laughed coldly.
“Righteous? You think I’m confused about who I am?”
Caroline’s face cracked.
For a moment she looked young again.
Exhausted.
Then a shot came from behind her.
Caroline’s body jerked.
She collapsed.
Marcus screamed.
Victor stood at the far end of the hallway.
Gun smoking.
“Touching,” he said.
Dominic grabbed his weapon.
Victor fired again.
Dominic pulled us behind a concrete pillar.
Bullets shattered lights.
“Give me the case!” Victor shouted.
Dominic yelled back, “Come get it!”
Victor laughed.
“I built your empire while you sat in silence!”
“You built your grave.”
“Still dramatic.”
I looked down.
Caroline was alive.
Barely.
She crawled toward me.
I reached for her.
She pressed something into my hand.
A phone.
“Send…” she whispered.
“What?”
“Everything.”
Her blood covered my fingers.
“Send it where?”
She coughed.
“Everyone.”
Then her eyes closed.
On the phone screen was one button.
UPLOAD ARCHIVE.
Victor saw it.
His expression changed.
“Elena.”
May you like
For the first time, he sounded afraid.
“Don’t touch that button.”
