Chapter 5 - Enemy of My Enemy
Elena collapsed onto the leather sofa in Alex’s private penthouse.
The revelation that her mother was alive, and had just stolen her last dime, shattered her reality.
Alex paced the length of the room, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair.
For the first time since she met him, he looked genuinely stressed.
“We have a mutual problem now, Elena,” he admitted.
Elena looked up, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.
“There is no 'we', Alex,” she spat.
“You blackmailed me, and my family betrayed me.”
Alex stopped pacing and knelt in front of her.
“If Julian and your mother win, we both lose our empires,” he said softly.
He reached out and gently wiped away another tear with his thumb.
The sudden tenderness in his touch sent a confusing shockwave through her chest.
She quickly swatted his hand away.
“So what is your brilliant plan?” she asked defensively.
Alex stood up and walked over to his massive digital wall monitor.
He pulled up the architectural blueprints of the hotel.
“Julian’s syndicate needs to process a massive digital transfer tonight to officially claim the estate,” Alex explained.
“They set up a temporary server in the hotel’s underground vault.”
Elena stared at the blueprints.
“You want us to break into my own vault?”
“I want us to steal the server drive before the transfer completes,” Alex corrected.
He handed her a sleek, black tactical suit.
“Put this on.”
Elena changed quickly, marveling at how perfectly the suit fit her.
They navigated through the hotel’s hidden service shafts, a route only Elena knew.
The darkness and tight spaces forced them to press closely together.
Elena could feel the heat radiating from Alex’s body, distracting her from the danger.
They finally reached the ventilation grate above the vault.
Alex carefully removed the screws and dropped silently to the floor below.
Elena followed, landing gracefully beside him.
They crept toward the glowing server tower in the center of the room.
Alex plugged a decryption drive into the port.
“It needs a master passcode,” Alex whispered urgently.
Elena typed in every family birthday and milestone she could think of.
Access denied.
Suddenly, the heavy steel door of the vault began to unlock from the outside.
Alex grabbed Elena and pulled her into the shadows behind a stack of gold bullion.
May you like
Julian walked into the vault, twirling a familiar silver locket around his finger.
It was Elena’s childhood locket, the one she had lost weeks ago.
