Chapter 4 - The Ultimate Betrayal
I stared at Brianna in absolute, paralyzing disbelief.
My nineteen-year-old half-sister was casually drinking coffee with armed mercenaries.
Victor groaned in pain from the chair, his face swollen and purple.
"Brianna, step away from those men," I ordered, keeping my weapon steady.
She rolled her eyes and set her coffee cup down on Victor's expensive mahogany desk.
"Put the gun away, Elena," she sighed impatiently.
"These guys aren't going to hurt me."
One of the heavily tattooed men chuckled and stepped back, giving her space.
"I don't understand," I said, my mind racing to process the impossible scene.
"Where is Mom?" I demanded.
"Mom is safely at a luxury spa resort, completely oblivious to everything," Brianna explained.
"I faked the kidnapping over the phone to make sure you would actually fly out here."
I lowered my weapon slightly, the betrayal stinging worse than a physical blow.
"Why would you do this?" I asked.
Brianna crossed her arms defensively.
"Victor is a pathetic loser who couldn't even afford to send me to a decent college," she spat.
"I found out he was trying to sell your stupid cabin, so I reached out to a few contacts."
She had purposely steered Victor toward the Vargas Syndicate's fake shell company.
She wanted Victor to steal the money so she could force me to unlock the federal trust.
"The syndicate promised me five hundred thousand dollars if I deliver the clear deed to them," Brianna smiled greedily.
"You are incredibly naive," I told her.
"They are going to kill you the second they get what they want."
"Actually, they have been very polite," Brianna countered.
Suddenly, the door behind me slammed shut, and a cold metal barrel was pressed against the back of my neck.
"Drop the weapon, Captain Calder," a smooth, dangerous voice whispered.
I slowly let my sidearm fall to the carpet.
A tall man in a tailored suit stepped into my line of sight.
He was clearly the syndicate boss overseeing this localized operation.
"Your sister is very ambitious, but you are right, she is entirely disposable," the boss said.
Brianna's arrogant smile finally vanished.
"Wait, that wasn't our deal," she stammered, stepping backward.
The boss ignored her and looked directly at me.
"We searched the cabin this morning, Elena," he stated calmly.
"We found your father's medals in the trash, exactly where Victor threw them."
He pulled my father's Silver Star from his pocket and dangled it from its ribbon.
"Sign the deed over to me, or I drop this medal into a crucible of molten lead."
I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to break his neck.
"I will sign it," I lied smoothly.
"Excellent," the boss smiled.
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"But first, let us show you what we do to greedy little girls who think they can play with the cartel."
He snapped his fingers, and two men violently grabbed Brianna by her hair.
