Chapter 4 - The Hostage
I stared down the dark barrel of the gun, my blood running completely cold.
Harper let out a terrified gasp and grabbed my arm tightly.
"Put the gun down, Leo, this is insane," I pleaded, trying to keep my voice steady.
Leo shook his head, his handsome face twisting into a mask of pure resentment.
"My mother and I lived in poverty for twenty years while you lived like queens," he snarled.
He revealed that Vanessa had actually orchestrated Graham's embezzlement scheme a decade ago.
Vanessa had manipulated the company's books and used Graham as the perfect corporate puppet.
"She forced him to build this hidden safe to store our cut of the stolen millions," Leo explained.
He reached deeper into the dark vault and pulled out stacks of banded hundred-dollar bills.
"Graham stopped paying us last month, so we had to take matters into our own hands," Leo said.
"You reported him to the FBI tonight just to get him out of the house," Harper realized aloud.
Leo chuckled darkly and shoved the stacks of cash into his empty backpack.
"It was the only way I could get in here to empty the vault without him interfering," he admitted.
He ordered us to sit on the floor and tied our wrists with thick computer cables from the desk.
I watched helplessly as he packed millions of dollars into his canvas bag.
"My mother is waiting for me at a private airstrip right now," Leo bragged carelessly.
He zipped the bag shut and walked toward the shattered office door.
"Enjoy dealing with the federal agents and the bank foreclosures, Elaine," he mocked.
Just as he stepped into the hallway, a loud, piercing alarm echoed through the entire house.
May you like
Thick, suffocating white smoke began pouring violently from the air vents.
Someone had just intentionally triggered the home's emergency fire suppression system.
