Chapter 4 - The Hostage
The cold barrel of the gun was pointed directly at my forehead.
I slowly raised my hands, feeling the damp fabric of my housekeeper uniform clinging to my skin.
"There is no cash in this house, Victor," I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible.
"We keep all our assets securely locked in corporate bank accounts."
Victor smiled, a terrifying expression that made the scar on his jaw stretch tightly.
"Then I suggest you figure out how to do a wire transfer, old woman."
He gestured with the gun, forcing Daniel, Rosa, Vanessa, and me into the formal living room.
His men quickly shut the heavy oak doors, trapping us inside our own home.
Daniel moved to stand beside me, his protective instincts overpowering his fear.
"Leave my mother alone, she has nothing to do with Vanessa's crimes," Daniel said bravely.
Vanessa sat on the edge of the velvet sofa, crying uncontrollably.
"I didn't mean to steal the money, Victor, it was a mistake!" she sobbed.
Victor walked over and slapped her across the face with the back of his hand.
The sound echoed sharply in the large, quiet room.
"You used that money to buy fancy clothes and trick this rich idiot into marrying you," Victor spat.
I realized then that Vanessa had targeted Daniel specifically to pay off her dangerous debts.
She never loved him, and he was just a walking bank account to save her from the criminal underworld.
"If you kill us, you will get nothing but a massive police manhunt," I pointed out rationally.
Victor turned his dead eyes back toward me.
"I only need one of you alive to authorize the bank transfer," he noted casually.
He raised the gun again, this time pointing it directly at Daniel's knee.
"Let's see how fast you type in those bank passwords when your son is bleeding out."
"Wait!" Vanessa screamed, jumping up from the sofa.
She pointed a manicured finger directly at my chest.
"She is the sole signatory on the Whitmore Foundation accounts, Daniel has no real power."
I stared at her in disgust, watching her sell me out just to buy herself a few more minutes of life.
Vanessa backed away from us, moving closer to Victor.
"If you let me go, Victor, I will give you the blackmail video I have on her son," she bargained.
"You can extort them for ten times what I owe you."
Victor lowered the gun slightly, clearly intrigued by the offer of endless blackmail money.
Before he could agree, a deafening crash echoed from the back of the house.
May you like
One of Victor's men ran into the living room, his face covered in blood.
"Boss, the police are swarming the back perimeter, someone tripped the silent alarm!" the man yelled.
