Chapter 8 - The Hidden Drive
I carefully peeled the layers of the old photograph apart with my fingernails.
Hidden entirely inside the thick cardboard was a tiny black micro-SD card.
This microscopic piece of plastic was the reason an army of killers was destroying my home.
It contained all the corrupt financial records and dark secrets of the global syndicate.
I slipped the tiny drive securely into the front pocket of my bloody shirt.
I stepped out of the master bedroom and silently moved down the shattered hallway.
The mercenaries were sweeping the ground floor methodically clearing room by room.
I knew I could not defeat a dozen heavily armed men with a single handgun.
I decided to head back to the surveillance room to find an alternate escape route.
I pulled the vent cover off and squeezed back into the dusty passage.
I crawled quickly through the insulation and knocked frantically on the heavy steel door.
Caroline unlocked the deadbolt and pulled me into the freezing room.
Lily and Maya were huddled in the corner crying softly into the dirty blankets.
I showed Caroline the tiny drive and told her we finally had a bargaining chip.
I planned to use the surveillance system to contact the mercenary leader outside.
I turned toward the computer monitors to find a way to access the external speakers.
I felt a cold metal barrel press very hard against the back of my skull.
I froze instantly and slowly raised both of my hands into the air.
Caroline had picked up a spare pistol from the surveillance desk and was pointing it at me.
Her tearful and desperate demeanor had vanished completely without a trace.
She looked at me with cold empty eyes that held absolutely no remorse.
Caroline coldly demanded that I hand over the micro-SD card immediately.
She revealed that she had never planned on running away to save our fake family.
She had secretly arranged to sell the encrypted drive to a rival criminal organization.
She was going to take the millions of dollars and leave me to die in this house.
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Caroline told the girls to stand up and prepare to leave with her.
She pulled the hammer back on the gun and whispered that her job here was finally done.
