Chương 3 - The Insider
Celia felt the room spinning out of control.
"What do you mean he didn't act alone?" she asked, her voice cracking.
Lorenzo walked over to the mahogany bar and poured a small glass of amber liquid.
He handed it to her without a word.
"Drink it," he commanded gently.
She swallowed the burning alcohol, letting it ground her racing thoughts.
"My security team just intercepted the man who kicked down your apartment door," Lorenzo explained.
He activated a large flat-screen monitor mounted on the far wall.
A live security feed showed a man tied to a chair in a concrete basement.
Celia gasped in horror.
The man bleeding on the screen was David, her direct supervisor at the architectural firm.
"David?" she whispered, dropping the glass onto the carpet.
"Your boss has been selling your daily schedule and building access codes to Travis for the past three months," Lorenzo said flatly.
Celia felt utterly sick to her stomach.
The changed commutes, the sudden appearances, the feeling of constantly being watched.
It had all been facilitated by the man who sat two desks away from her.
"Why would David do this?" she asked, tears of betrayal welling in her eyes.
"Because Travis Hail is not just an abusive ex-boyfriend," Lorenzo replied, turning off the monitor.
Lorenzo walked closer to her, his gray eyes darkening with dangerous intensity.
"Travis is a debt collector for the Moretti family."
Celia had lived in Chicago long enough to recognize that notorious name.
The Morettis controlled the south side ports, the illegal gambling rings, and half the corrupt politicians in the city.
"And you?" she asked, taking a hesitant step back.
"I am the man the Morettis are currently trying to kill," Lorenzo answered without blinking.
"Travis used your relationship to get close to my territory, and now that you dumped him, he's using you as bait."
Celia shook her head, refusing to accept the massive conspiracy she had been dragged into.
Her phone chimed with a new text message.
She pulled it from her pocket with trembling fingers.
It was a picture message from Travis.
The image showed a young college girl asleep in a dorm room bed.
Celia screamed and dropped the phone.
It was her younger sister, Maya.
May you like
The text below the image read a single, terrifying sentence.
"She sleeps so soundly when the door is unlocked."
