Chapter 12 - One Button
My thumb hovered over the screen.
Victor stepped closer.
Dominic aimed at him.
“Take another step.”
Victor stopped.
He looked at me.
“Elena, you have no idea what you’re about to do.”
“You threatened my son.”
“I was controlling a situation.”
“You put a tracker in his coloring book.”
“A precaution.”
“You sent armed men to my apartment.”
“Pressure.”
I stared at him.
“You call everything something else, don’t you?”
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“The files on that phone will destroy hundreds of lives.”
“Good.”
“No.”
His voice sharpened.
“Not just criminals. Families. Businesses. People who made one mistake twenty years ago.”
Dominic looked at me.
Victor noticed.
“There. Even Dominic understands.”
Dominic said nothing.
“Some of those files implicate judges,” Victor continued. “Police chiefs. CEOs. Senators. If you upload everything without control, you create chaos.”
“You mean you lose control.”
Victor smiled.
“Control is the only thing separating civilization from animals.”
Dominic laughed.
“You put a machine in my skull and spent three years spying on me.”
“Because you were reckless.”
“You murdered my sister.”
Victor’s face went flat.
“Sofia made a choice.”
Dominic raised the gun.
“What choice?”
“She wouldn’t stop.”
Marcus whispered, “Mommy…”
I covered his ears.
Victor looked at Dominic.
“You want the truth? Fine. Sofia came to me. She threatened to expose everything.”
“What did you do?”
“I warned her.”
“You killed her.”
“I had someone damage her brakes.”
Dominic’s face emptied.
No anger.
No grief.
Nothing.
That scared me more.
Victor continued.
“She could have walked away.”
Dominic fired.
The bullet hit the wall beside Victor’s head.
Victor flinched.
“That was the last warning,” Dominic said.
Victor lifted both hands.
“Kill me and you still have the files.”
“I know.”
“Then what?”
Dominic looked at me.
I understood.
The button.
Victor understood too.
His gun moved toward me.
Dominic fired first.
Victor’s weapon flew from his hand.
He screamed and grabbed his wrist.
I pressed the button.
UPLOAD STARTED.
1%.
Victor’s eyes widened.
“No.”
5%.
He ran toward me.
Dominic tackled him.
They crashed onto the concrete.
12%.
Victor punched Dominic’s injured ear.
Dominic roared.
20%.
I backed away with Marcus.
Victor grabbed Dominic’s gun.
Dominic grabbed his wrist.
35%.
“Stop it!” Victor screamed.
50%.
The men fought for the weapon.
70%.
Victor slammed Dominic’s head against the floor.
Dominic went still.
“Dominic!”
Victor stood.
Blood covered his face.
He lifted the gun.
Pointed it at me.
89%.
He smiled.
“You should’ve stayed poor and invisible.”
95%.
I stepped in front of Marcus.
Victor’s finger tightened.
99%.
Then a shot rang out.
Victor’s body jerked.
His eyes widened.
He fell.
Behind him stood Caroline.
Barely conscious.
Gun in her shaking hand.
May you like
The phone beeped.
UPLOAD COMPLETE.
