Chapter 7 - The Decoy
Alex stared at the glowing screen in absolute horror, the heavy brass paperweight slipping slowly from his trembling hand.
He had spent his entire life protecting Mia after their parents passed away, and now she was paying the ultimate price for his arrogant mistakes.
Thorne calmly straightened his expensive silk tie and offered Alex a seemingly simple, terrible deal.
Alex would voluntarily surrender himself to the local authorities and publicly confess to the bombing of Ben's apartment complex.
In exchange for taking the fall and permanently leaving the drone code alone, Thorne promised to let Mia go unharmed.
Alex knew a powerful man like Thorne never actually kept his promises, but he currently had absolutely zero leverage.
He slowly backed away from the desk, nodding in silent, agonizing agreement to the billionaire's ruthless demands.
Thorne gave him an exact location at the city pier where the hostage exchange would supposedly take place in one hour.
Alex slipped out of the skyscraper through a heavily guarded service elevator, moving like a ghost through the rainy city.
He arrived at the desolate, foggy pier exactly on time, shivering uncontrollably in the freezing coastal wind.
He waited anxiously by the rusted shipping containers, desperately scanning the dark horizon for any sign of his kidnapped sister.
Headlights suddenly pierced the thick fog, and a sleek black van rolled silently to a stop at the end of the wooden dock.
Alex sprinted eagerly toward the vehicle, his heart filled with a tiny, desperate shred of hope.
The heavy sliding door of the van ripped open violently, but Mia was not inside the vehicle at all.
Instead, a dozen heavily armed SWAT officers poured out of the back, aiming bright tactical flashlights and laser sights directly at his chest.
Helicopters suddenly appeared overhead, drowning out all sound as they bathed the dock in blinding white spotlights.
A stern voice over a megaphone commanded him to get down on the wet ground and put his hands firmly behind his head.
Alex had been entirely set up to take the fall publicly, just as Thorne had meticulously planned from the start.
As a rough officer slammed him brutally onto the cold asphalt and slapped heavy steel cuffs on his wrists, Alex noticed something terrifying.
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The lead tactical officer who was currently arresting him was wearing a very familiar, expensive tailored suit under his protective tactical vest.
It was one of the ruthless assassins from the coffee shop.
