Chapter 3 - The Countermove
The revelation hit me harder than a physical blow to the chest.
Luke had been by my side since we were both scraping by on the violent south side of Chicago.
He was the one who pulled me out of the line of fire on the day I was paralyzed.
Now, I realized he only saved me to slowly take over my entire underground empire from the inside.
I looked at the terrified young woman trembling on my bed.
I told her she was going to help me destroy them both tonight.
Emma hesitated, reminding me that Marcus would kill her mother if she failed her mission.
I pulled out my secure encrypted phone and made a single, brief call.
Within ten minutes, a black SUV was dispatched to relocate her mother to a private, heavily guarded penthouse.
I promised Emma that all of her mother's medical bills were officially wiped clean.
Relief washed over her face, and the fear in her eyes was quickly replaced by a fierce determination.
I instructed her to reply to Marcus and confirm that the east wing door was unlocked.
She typed the message with shaking hands and hit send.
I wheeled myself toward the hidden armory located safely behind my bookshelf.
I loaded two high-capacity magazines into my customized assault rifle.
We waited in the absolute silence of my darkened bedroom for the assassins to arrive.
Suddenly, the burner phone buzzed with a chilling new message.
May you like
Marcus replied that his men were not actually coming to the estate tonight.
The message revealed that Luke had already planted a highly explosive device under my custom wheelchair.
