Chapter 8 - The Question of Trust
I stared at the crude drawing, my mind spinning with terrifying new possibilities.
I looked down at Maria, who was busy smoothing Lily’s hair and looking completely innocent.
If her husband was truly alive, then everything Maria had told me was a carefully constructed lie.
I did not confront her immediately, knowing I needed solid proof before blowing up my only alliance.
I told Maria to stay locked in the secure recovery wing with the guards while I transmitted the files.
I walked down the sterile white corridor, my hand resting near the pistol tucked into my waistband.
I found an empty doctor's office and locked the heavy door behind me.
I plugged the titanium flash drive into the secure terminal and bypassed the firewalls.
The master ledger loaded onto the screen, detailing thousands of illegal transactions.
I scanned the names involved in the massive corporate fraud and money laundering schemes.
Victoria’s family was listed everywhere, exactly as my mother had claimed.
But as I scrolled to the very bottom of the ledger, I found the payroll for the syndicate's hitmen.
The lead assassin on the payroll was a man named Carlos Alvarez.
Carlos was Maria's husband, and the records showed he had been receiving massive payments for the last three years.
He didn't die in a car crash; he had faked his death to become Victoria's top mercenary.
I realized Maria might not be a victim running from the mob at all.
She might be a highly trained spy sent by her own husband to infiltrate my inner circle.
My phone vibrated with a sudden, silent alert from my private security network.
It was a live feed from the hospital’s external security cameras.
A dozen armed men dressed in tactical gear were silently breaching the hospital's rear entrance.
Leading the heavily armed strike team was a man with a jagged scar across his left eye.
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Carlos had tracked us to the hidden facility, and he was coming straight for the recovery wing.
I drew my weapon and sprinted down the hallway to save the woman who might be playing me for a fool.
