Chapter 7 - The Master Key
Nico stormed violently into his penthouse command center, his eyes bloodshot and filled with rage.
His lead technology expert was frantically typing commands on a glowing keyboard.
The tech announced that a highly secure tracking beacon had just activated on the western highway.
Nico realized instantly that it was the master ledger chip that had gone missing from his hidden wall safe.
He immediately assumed Norah had stolen the ultimate key to his empire in order to destroy him.
His private phone rang loudly, and he saw Arthur's name illuminating the caller ID.
Arthur lied flawlessly, telling Nico that Norah was working for the Romanos and had just tried to kill him on the highway.
Nico felt a cold, dark, and absolute rage consume his entire body.
He ordered every single armed man in his syndicate to converge on the beacon's exact location.
He swore to his men that he would look her in the eyes and pull the trigger himself.
Meanwhile, Norah stared in pure terror at the blinking red light on the truck's dashboard.
She knew she could never outrun a mafia syndicate in a broken, sputtering vehicle.
She grabbed the microchip and ran desperately toward a massive, abandoned subway terminal in the distance.
She planned to use the thick concrete tunnels deep underground to block the deadly tracking signal.
She climbed down the rusted stairs into the darkness and immediately heard the screeching of tires above her.
Dozens of armed men were already swarming the terminal entrances like angry hornets.
She hid behind a massive concrete support pillar and pulled out her prepaid burner phone.
She dialed Nico's private, encrypted number, praying to a god she barely believed in that he would answer.
Nico picked up the phone on the very first ring.
Norah begged him to listen to her, speaking rapidly as she explained that Arthur was the real traitor.
Nico remained completely, terrifyingly silent for a long moment.
Then his cold voice echoed through the phone, telling her to turn around.
May you like
Norah slowly turned her head toward the darkness of the tunnel.
Nico was standing exactly ten feet away from her with his customized gun drawn and aimed at her heart.
