Chapter 5 - The Traitor's Price
Leo kept the assault rifle perfectly leveled at Raphael's heart.
The two overridden security dogs remained sitting calmly, completely useless against a human threat holding a gun.
Margot stayed frozen behind the fallen filing cabinet, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"Five million is a cheap price for loyalty, Leo," Raphael said, his voice terrifyingly calm despite the betrayal.
"It's not just about the money, Raphael," Leo sneered, stepping carefully into the smoky archive room.
"You have been running this family like a legitimate corporation, and the men are tired of playing by your clean rules."
Raphael slowly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, though his eyes darted rapidly around the room.
"So you let the Romanovs bomb my building just to stage a coup?" Raphael asked.
"They get the archive files, and I get the boss's chair," Leo confirmed with an arrogant smirk.
Leo noticed Margot hiding behind the metal cabinet and gestured with the barrel of his rifle.
"Get out here, girl," Leo ordered roughly.
Margot slowly stood up, clutching her gray cardboard notebook tightly against her chest.
"Who is the stray?" Leo asked, looking her up and down with obvious disgust.
"She's a nobody," Raphael lied smoothly. "Just a temp who got caught in the crossfire."
Leo laughed, a harsh, grating sound that echoed over the crackle of the small fires.
"Well, the temp is going to die today, just like you," Leo stated.
He raised the rifle to his shoulder, preparing to execute them both.
Margot's mind raced back to her exhaustive, meticulous indexing of the archive over the last three months.
She knew exactly what was inside the boxes stacked directly behind Leo.
"If you shoot us, Leo, you will destroy the only thing the Romanovs actually want," Margot blurted out.
Leo paused, his finger hovering over the trigger.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
Margot pointed to the boxes stacked precariously near the open fire door.
"Those aren't extortion files," she lied with total, unwavering confidence.
"Those boxes contain the highly unstable chemical precursors the Romanovs use for their drug labs."
Leo frowned, glancing nervously over his shoulder at the cardboard boxes.
"If a stray bullet hits them, the entire floor will explode with enough force to level the city block," Margot warned.
Leo hesitated, weighing the risk of another massive explosion against his desire to pull the trigger.
That single second of doubt was all Raphael needed.
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He didn't go for his gun; he simply snapped his fingers and shouted a harsh, guttural command in Italian.
The two Dobermans, previously docile, launched themselves silently and violently at Leo's throat.
