Chapter 12 - The Price of Greed
A violent splash of freezing water shocked me back into consciousness.
I gasped for air, coughing violently as the stinging liquid burned my nose and throat.
I was strapped tightly to a heavy metal chair in the center of an enormous, freezing room.
The smell of motor oil, damp concrete, and rusted iron hung thick in the air.
It was an abandoned aircraft hangar, completely isolated from civilization.
Standing directly in front of me was David, wearing an immaculate designer wool coat and holding an empty steel bucket.
Lined up against the concrete wall were three other chairs.
Lauren was tied to the left chair, her face bruised and streaked with tears.
Olivia sat in the middle, staring at the floor in terrified silence.
Detective Vance was strapped to the far right, bleeding heavily from a split lip.
"Look at this lovely family reunion," David said cheerfully, tossing the bucket aside.
The sound echoed loudly off the corrugated metal walls of the hangar.
"David, please," Lauren sobbed, her voice trembling with genuine panic.
"I am your sister, your own flesh and blood."
"You promised we were going to split the money and disappear to Europe."
David walked slowly over to Lauren and knelt down so his face was inches from hers.
"You were always so breathtakingly stupid, Lauren," David whispered softly.
"You really thought I would let you walk away with forty million dollars and your little actress girlfriend?"
David reached out and roughly grabbed Lauren by the chin.
"You were the distraction, Lauren."
"You spent four months pretending to be a crippled victim while I quietly transferred the syndicate's wealth into Marcus's corporate accounts."
"The cartel was looking for me, not Marcus."
"Now, the cartel thinks Marcus stole the money, and you were kind enough to gather all the keys under one roof."
David stood up and turned his attention back to me.
He pulled a heavy military laptop from a metal crate and set it on a folding table in front of my chair.
"Now, Marcus," David said, pulling a polished silver revolver from his coat.
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"You are going to log into your executive portal and authorize the final transfer."
"If you refuse, I will shoot one person in this room every sixty seconds until you comply."
