Chapter 8 - The Hostage
Roman slowly looked up at the jagged stone cliff towering over their dark position in the woods.
Standing at the very edge of the steep drop was Julian, completely surrounded by armed men.
Julian was forcefully holding a kneeling, gray-haired woman by the back of her neck.
It was Roman's beloved mother, who was supposed to be safely guarded in Italy.
"You have exactly one minute to surrender, or I throw her off," Julian announced cheerfully over the phone.
Roman felt a sickening wave of pure terror wash over his entirely exhausted body.
"If you hurt her, there is no hole on Earth deep enough to hide you," Roman threatened.
"I already control the police, the politicians, and your entire bank accounts," Julian laughed easily.
"You have absolutely nothing left to threaten me with, brother-in-law."
Roman looked desperately at his terrified sons and then back up at his captive mother.
He was trapped in a completely impossible, nightmare scenario with no way out.
He could not sacrifice his children, but he could never watch his mother be murdered.
Roman handed his stolen assault rifle directly to Josephine without looking at her.
"Take the boys and run as far as you can," Roman whispered, his voice completely breaking.
"I am going to walk up there and trade my life for my mother's life."
Josephine aggressively grabbed his arm and refused to take the weapon.
"Julian has zero intention of letting anyone walk away from this mountain alive," she argued.
"It is the only chance my family has left," Roman insisted, stepping out of the shadows.
He raised his empty hands and began walking slowly up the muddy trail toward the cliff.
"I am unarmed, Julian!" Roman shouted into the stormy darkness.
"Let my mother go, and you can have my life and my empire without a fight."
Julian smiled warmly and motioned for two of his large guards to go down and collect him.
Roman knelt in the thick mud, fully preparing to be executed to save his family.
Suddenly, Josephine stepped out of the dark trees right beside him, holding her hands in the air.
"You do not want him, Julian," Josephine yelled loudly up the steep cliff.
"You want the encrypted flash drive containing the Russian syndicate's offshore accounts."
Julian completely froze, his arrogant smile vanishing instantly from his face.
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"How do you know about the Russian drive?" Julian demanded nervously.
"Because I am the one who stole it from them five years ago," Josephine smiled.
