Chapter 8 - The Final Player
I read the encrypted message aloud, my blood running completely cold.
Sebastian slammed on the brakes, pulling the armored car into a dark, secluded alleyway.
"If my grandfather is in a coma, and your father didn't order it, who did?" Sebastian demanded.
I stared at the unknown number on my screen.
Suddenly, a second message appeared.
"Look in the trunk of the car."
Sebastian unholstered his weapon and slowly stepped out into the alley.
He walked to the back of the vehicle and popped the trunk open.
I held my breath, waiting for an explosion or an ambush.
Instead, Sebastian reached inside and pulled out a thick, leather-bound ledger.
He climbed back into the driver's seat and turned on the overhead light.
"What is that?" I asked, looking at the faded pages.
"It's my grandfather's master ledger," Sebastian said, his eyes scanning the names.
"It records every bribe, every assassination, and every shell company the Vale family owns."
He flipped to the very last page, where a recent transaction was highlighted in bright red ink.
A massive payment had been made to a private mercenary group just yesterday.
The signature authorizing the payment was not the grandfather's.
It was Elias, the head of security we had found supposedly dead in the penthouse.
"Elias isn't dead," Sebastian realized, his voice dropping to a furious whisper.
"He faked his own death with a paralyzing agent to throw me off his scent."
Elias was trying to wipe out the entire Vale bloodline to seize control of the legal corporate empire.
Before we could formulate a plan, the armored car's internal radio cracked to life.
"I see you found my little gift, Sebastian," Elias's voice echoed through the speakers.
May you like
"I wired the brakes of your car to fail the moment you start the engine again."
He was watching us right now.
