Chapter 7 - The Price of Loyalty
When Norah opened her eyes, her head throbbed violently.
She was tied to a wooden chair in the center of a dusty, abandoned dock warehouse.
Rain lashed against the rusted tin roof.
In front of her stood Julian, holding a heavy iron pipe, surrounded by ten armed men.
Beside him sat a laptop streaming her financial audit files to an external drive.
"Ah, the sleeping beauty wakes," Julian sneered, walking around her chair. "You really are stupid, girl. Going into a basement alone because of a handwritten note?"
Norah swallowed past her dry throat, struggling against the thick ropes securing her wrists. "Dominic... where is he?"
"My dear cousin is currently chasing decoy cars on the other side of town," Julian laughed darkly. "By the time he figures out where you are, I will have transferred three hundred million dollars out of his accounts using your master audit passwords."
"You won't get away with this," Norah said, her voice remarkably steady despite the terror gnawing at her insides. "He will hunt you down."
"He won't get the chance," Julian barked, raising the iron pipe. "Once the transfer is complete, I'm framing you for the theft and putting a bullet through your pretty head."
Norah closed her eyes, breathing deeply.
She remembered Dominic’s words: In my world, a person who doesn't lie is priceless.
She opened her eyes, looking directly at the computer screen. "You're using the secondary encryption protocol, Julian. If you hit enter on that transfer, it triggers a hard lock on the offshore accounts. The money will be frozen forever."
Julian paused, frowning at the screen. "What?"
"I built a trap inside the ledger two days ago," Norah lied smoothly, her voice filled with quiet confidence. "Only my finger scan can authorize a transfer over ten million dollars."
Julian swore under his breath, stepping closer to her with the pipe. "Then give me your hand!"
"No," Norah said coldly.
Before Julian could grab her, the heavy corrugated metal doors of the warehouse blew inward with a deafening explosion.
May you like
BOOM!
Smoke and shattered iron rained across the concrete floor.
