Chapter 5 - The Loyal Betrayer
Victor kept his gun pressed firmly against Arthur's bleeding temple.
I stood perfectly still, my hand hovering near the weapon holstered beneath my coat.
Victor was my most trusted enforcer, the man who had protected me from rival syndicates for seven years.
"How much did she pay you, Victor?" I asked, keeping my voice dangerously even.
"It wasn't about money, Lucian," Victor replied, his eyes cold and devoid of their usual loyalty.
"Eleanor promised me immunity from the federal indictments she is currently handing to the US Attorney."
I let out a harsh, bitter laugh.
"You really believe the FBI will honor a deal made by a scorned wife?"
"She isn't just a scorned wife," Victor said softly.
"She has been an active, undercover federal informant for the last three years."
The words hit me like a freight train.
Eleanor hadn't suddenly snapped because of my affair.
She had been building a federal case against me from the inside, using her position as my forensic accountant to meticulously map every illegal transaction I authorized.
"Arthur figured it out this morning," Victor explained, nodding down at the terrified CFO.
"He realized Eleanor deliberately triggered the security protocols on the offshore accounts to freeze your cartel money."
Arthur coughed, spitting blood onto the metal table.
"She trapped the cartel's forty million in a legitimate escrow account," Arthur wheezed.
"When the feds raid the foundation, they will seize that money as evidence."
The situation was spiraling entirely out of my control.
If the FBI seized the cartel's forty million dollars, the cartel bosses wouldn't blame the government.
They would blame me, and they would send a hit squad to murder everyone I cared about.
"If you know she is an informant, why are you holding Arthur hostage?" I asked Victor.
"Because Arthur has the secondary access codes to release the escrow funds before the FBI seizes them," Victor said.
"And Eleanor wants those funds wired directly into a blind trust controlled by the US Justice Department."
Victor cocked the hammer of his suppressed pistol.
"Give me the codes, Arthur, or I blow your brains all over this warehouse."
Arthur looked at me with wild, desperate eyes.
"If I give him the codes, the cartel will torture me to death!" Arthur screamed.
I knew Arthur was right.
I also knew I couldn't let Victor execute my CFO and deliver the cartel's money to the feds.
I drew my weapon and fired a single shot.
I didn't aim at Victor.
I aimed at the heavy steel chain holding a massive wooden shipping crate suspended from a ceiling crane directly above Victor's head.
The bullet shattered a crucial link in the chain.
The massive crate plummeted downward, crashing onto the warehouse floor with a deafening roar.
Victor scrambled backward to avoid being crushed, his aim thrown wildly off target.
I sprinted forward, tackling Victor to the ground before he could recover.
We wrestled on the concrete floor, trading brutal blows as I fought to disarm my former protector.
I managed to wrench the pistol from his grasp, throwing it across the room.
I pinned him down, pressing my forearm hard against his throat.
"Where is Eleanor right now?" I demanded, squeezing his windpipe.
Victor choked, a bloody smile spreading across his face.
"She is at the waterfront casino site," Victor gasped.
"She is waiting to hand the physical ledgers over to the federal agents."
I stood up, leaving Victor gasping for air on the concrete.
I grabbed Arthur, cutting his zip-ties with a pocketknife.
"Transfer the escrow funds back to the cartel's offshore accounts immediately," I ordered Arthur.
Arthur grabbed a laptop from a nearby desk, his hands shaking violently as he typed in the bypass codes.
"It's done," Arthur reported, looking terrified. "The money is back with the cartel."
I had solved one massive problem, but the biggest threat still remained.
I had to get to the waterfront casino and stop Eleanor from delivering the physical ledgers to the FBI.
I stole Victor's secure SUV and drove recklessly toward the waterfront, the snowstorm still raging outside.
When I arrived at the massive, half-constructed casino, the site was completely deserted due to the blizzard.
I parked the SUV and drew my weapon, stepping out into the freezing wind.
I walked into the dark, cavernous structure, searching for my wife.
Suddenly, floodlights blazed to life, blinding me completely.
"Put the gun down, Lucian," a familiar, elegant voice echoed through the empty casino.
I squinted against the glaring lights.
May you like
Eleanor was standing on a concrete balcony twenty feet above me, looking down with a mixture of pity and absolute triumph.
Standing right beside her, holding a suppressed assault rifle aimed directly at my chest, was the leader of the rival cartel.
