Chapter 4 - Blood and Betrayal
Roman staggered backward, his mind completely unable to process the impossible sight before him.
Elias set his glass down on the wooden table and offered his brother a sad, sympathetic smile.
He explained that he had to fake his own death three years ago to escape the exact same syndicate Chloe worked for.
Elias claimed he had been tracking the syndicate from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Roman felt a surge of furious anger mixed with overwhelming relief as he realized he was not alone in this fight.
Nora kept her weapon raised, staring at Elias with deep, undisguised suspicion.
She demanded to know how Elias had bypassed her agency's absolute highest security protocols to enter the safe house.
Elias calmly ignored her question and reached into his heavy leather duffel bag.
He pulled out two perfectly forged passports, thick stacks of foreign currency, and a set of car keys.
He told Roman they needed to flee the country immediately because Chloe had already mobilized a small army to hunt them.
Roman looked at the passports, tempted by the simple promise of escaping this nightmare forever.
He asked Elias what they were supposed to do about the stolen ledger that could destroy the world economy.
Elias assured him that the syndicate would never be able to crack the military-grade encryption without Roman's biometric scan.
Roman hesitated, trusting his brother but feeling a deep, nagging sense of guilt about leaving the mess behind.
Elias suddenly checked his expensive watch and sighed heavily, his sympathetic expression vanishing entirely.
He stood up, grabbed his duffel bag, and walked quickly toward the heavy steel door.
He told Roman that he truly loved him, but business was simply business.
Elias stepped out of the apartment and violently slammed the heavy door shut, locking it from the outside.
Nora rushed forward and desperately pulled on the handle, but the electronic lock had been permanently fused.
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Roman looked down at the table where the passports and the stack of cash had been left.
Hidden directly beneath the money was a small digital timer counting down rapidly from fifteen seconds.
