Chapter 6: The Architect of Lies
Sarah instantly dropped the hard drive and grabbed the pistol from the box, leveling it at the shadow in the hallway. Her hands shook violently, but her grip was firm.
"Stay back!" Sarah screamed, stepping in front of Leo and the baby. "I will shoot you!"
The figure stepped forward into the dim beam of the flashlight. It was an older man, wearing a perfectly tailored suit completely ruined by the mud and rain. He didn't look like a thug; he looked like a CEO.
"Put the gun down, Sarah. The safety is still on," the man said calmly, holding up his empty hands. "My name is Arthur Vance. I am Mark's father."
Sarah froze. "Mark's parents died in a car crash twenty years ago."
Arthur offered a sad, grim smile. "Marcus told you a lot of lies to protect you. He thought if he severed all ties, Aegis wouldn't be able to use us against him. But Aegis isn't just a company, Sarah. It's a syndicate. And I am one of its founding members."
"You..." Sarah's mind spun. "You're with the people trying to kill us?"
"I am the reason you are still alive," Arthur corrected, taking a slow step toward the kitchen table. "I sent the Airdrop to the boy's tablet. I unlocked the hospital's back doors so you could escape. I am trying to save my grandson."
"Where is my husband?!" Sarah demanded, her finger trembling on the trigger.
Arthur's expression darkened. "Marcus is currently in the custody of the Director. They are torturing him to find out where the ledger is. If they get it, he dies. If they don't get it, he dies."
"Then what are you doing here?!" Leo yelled, tears streaming down his face. "If you're his dad, why don't you save him?!"
"Because I need the ledger to do it, Leo," Arthur said, looking at the silver drive resting on the floor. "The Director wants to destroy it. I want to use it to blackmail the board into letting Marcus go. It's a trade."
"How do I know you're not just trying to take it for yourself?" Sarah asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Because if I wanted to kill you, the men in the black sedan would have followed you down the dirt road," Arthur replied smoothly. "I ordered them to stop. I am the only ally you have in this world right now, Sarah. And we are out of time."
May you like
Before Sarah could process his words, the sound of a helicopter rotor began to chop through the heavy rain outside, growing louder and louder until it hovered directly over the cabin.
"They tracked my phone," Arthur cursed, pulling a weapon from his own jacket. "The Director is here."
