Chapter 5 - Sins of the Past
Marcus stood there, looking older and heavily scarred from the fiery crash that supposedly killed him.
His dark eyes held a dangerous, unhinged clarity that sent shivers down Ethan's spine.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Derrick," Marcus laughed, the bitter sound echoing in the freezing hallway.
Derrick fell heavily to his knees, his teeth chattering uncontrollably from both fear and the plunging temperature.
"Please, Marcus, I can give you the money," Derrick begged, his massive ego entirely evaporated.
"I took your shares, I am sorry, I will give it all back to you with interest."
Marcus stepped closer, pressing the cold steel barrel of the pistol against the glass door separating them.
"It was never about the money, Derrick," Marcus said coldly, his breath fogging the glass.
"It was about the fact that you cut my brake lines to secure your IPO without me."
Ethan looked at Derrick, a sickening wave of profound disgust washing over him.
"You killed him?" Ethan asked, stepping away from the shivering billionaire on the floor.
"I didn't have a choice!" Derrick sobbed pathetic tears.
"He was going to open-source our proprietary algorithm, he would have ruined the entire company!"
Marcus turned his attention to Ethan, his expression shifting from anger to deep disappointment.
"And you just walked away, Ethan," Marcus said, his voice filled with the pain of betrayal.
"You took your quiet buyout and let him build this disgusting empire on my blood."
"I didn't know he tried to kill you," Ethan replied, his voice remarkably steady despite the freezing cold.
"I left because the code was becoming too invasive and unethical for me to stomach."
"Well, now the code is finally going to serve absolute justice," Marcus declared with a twisted smile.
Marcus tapped a final command into the illuminated terminal behind him.
The robotic voice echoed through the mansion again, reaching every terrified guest trapped upstairs.
"Phase two initiated," the voice announced calmly.
"Broadcasting all of Derrick Vance's private files, illegal transactions, and blackmail material to the global internet."
Derrick screamed in absolute agony, realizing his life, his reputation, and his freedom were being destroyed in real-time.
"Now for phase three," Marcus smiled grimly, backing away from the glass.
May you like
"I have sealed the server room, and I am venting the rest of the liquid nitrogen directly into your hallway."
A massive cloud of freezing white vapor erupted from the ceiling vents directly above Ethan and Derrick.
