Chapter 4 - The Penthouse Breach
The cold steel of the gun barrel pressed uncomfortably into Elena's skin.
"Give me the vault code you took from the dead man," the stranger demanded in a harsh whisper.
"Who are you?" Elena shot back, refusing to break eye contact despite her terror.
"My name is Carter, and I am the man who is going to rob Julian Sterling tonight," he replied.
Elena realized this rogue mercenary was after the exact same encrypted ledger she needed.
"If you shoot me, you will never get those numbers," she bluffed, crossing her arms defensively.
Carter stared at her for a long moment before finally lowering the weapon.
"Fine, we work together to get into the penthouse, and then we split whatever is in the vault," he proposed.
Elena nodded in agreement, knowing she fully intended to betray him the second she had the drive.
They crawled through the dusty ventilation maze for twenty minutes in complete silence.
Carter kicked open a metal grate, and they dropped down into Julian's luxurious penthouse suite.
The room was a breathtaking display of excessive wealth, filled with priceless art and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Elena rushed straight to the hidden wall safe behind a massive Renaissance painting.
She punched in the six-digit code she had retrieved from Marcus.
The heavy steel door clicked loudly and swung open.
Elena smiled triumphantly, reaching her hand into the dark cavity.
Her smile vanished instantly.
The vault was completely empty.
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"Looking for this?" a sharp, elegant female voice echoed from the doorway.
Julian's beautiful wife, Victoria Sterling, stood there holding the glowing hard drive in her manicured hand.
