Chapter 5 - The Loyal Traitor
The heavy rain pounded violently against the bulletproof glass of the trapped SUV.
Arthur stared at the barrel of the suppressed pistol pointing directly at his chest.
"Marcus, what are you doing?" Arthur asked as his mind struggled to process the betrayal.
Marcus let out a long and tired sigh before resting his arm on the steering wheel.
"I have served you faithfully for thirty years, Arthur," Marcus began smoothly.
"I built your empire while you took all the credit and the glory."
The young boy in the backseat began to cry softly as Victoria pulled him closer to protect him.
"You orchestrated everything," Arthur realized as the horrible truth finally dawned on him.
"You had Elaine push Anna down the stairs seven years ago so she would not inherit the company."
Marcus smiled and nodded as if he were receiving a grand compliment.
"Elaine was greedy and stupid but she served her purpose well," Marcus admitted.
"But Anna somehow survived the fall and hid herself away in the slums to protect her unborn child."
Arthur felt a blinding rage building in his chest but he knew he could not outdraw the gun.
"Why are you doing this now?" Arthur demanded sharply.
"Because I finally found her," Marcus stated with a chilling calmness.
Marcus pressed a button on the dashboard and the warehouse doors slowly began to open.
"I need your signature on the final transfer documents before I eliminate the entire bloodline," Marcus explained.
He forced Arthur, Victoria, and the boy out of the vehicle at gunpoint.
They walked through the dark and damp warehouse while the sound of dripping water echoed endlessly.
In the center of the massive room the black van was parked under a single halogen light.
Two heavily armed mercenaries stood guard outside the sliding doors of the van.
"Bring her out," Marcus ordered the guards.
The mercenaries slid the doors open and dragged a weak and bruised woman out into the light.
"Mom!" the boy screamed as he tried to run forward.
Victoria held the boy back tightly to prevent the guards from shooting him.
Anna looked up with a bruised face and locked eyes with her father for the first time in seven years.
"Dad," she whispered weakly as tears mixed with the blood on her cheek.
Arthur dropped to his knees in the dirty puddles and sobbed at the sight of his broken daughter.
Marcus tossed a digital tablet onto the wet floor directly in front of Arthur.
"Sign the transfer of your entire empire and I promise I will make your deaths completely painless," Marcus offered.
Arthur looked at the tablet and then looked at his crying grandson.
May you like
He slowly picked up the device and prepared to sign away everything he had ever built.
Suddenly a massive explosion rocked the far side of the warehouse.
