Chapter 16 - Whispers in the Dark
Deep beneath the Crown Casino, cold humidity filled the dark concrete tunnels. The digital clock on the vault wall read 02:15... 02:14...
I kicked open the heavy iron door of the storage room. Marcus and Sarah were bound to steel chairs, bruised but conscious, with a tactical explosive rigged to the central pillar between them.
"Elena! Get out! It's a trap!" Marcus shouted, his voice hoarse.
"I'm not leaving without you," I said, dropping to my knees beside the explosive device.
Victor stepped out from the shadows of an adjoining tunnel, holding Chloe by the arm and pointing a heavy caliber pistol at my head.
"You're too late, Elena," Victor sneered, his eyes wild with desperation. "The main server already wiped the evidence files. Even if you cut those wires, Arthur Vance and I have private jets waiting at the runway. We win."
"You really think Arthur Vance is waiting for you, Victor?" I said calmly, my hands steadily cutting through the outer casing of the explosive.
Victor frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Check your phone," I replied smoothly, snipping a blue wire. 01:05... 01:04... "The moment the stream went live, Arthur Vance transferred all offshore funds into a single panamanian account and boarded his private jet alone. He left you to take the fall."
Victor frantically pulled out his satellite phone. The screen displayed a single notification: ACCOUNT BALANCE: $0.00. TRANSACTION COMPLETE.
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"That bastard!" Victor screamed, losing his composure completely.
In that fraction of a second of distraction, Chloe shoved Victor away from her and scrambled toward the corner. I lunged forward, sweeping Victor’s legs out with a low kick, sending his pistol spinning across the concrete floor.
