Chapter 8: The Second Betrayal
Lucas was no longer inside Voss Tower.
His temporary security team claimed he had left for a private meeting.
No destination had been entered into the company system.
Elena tracked him through an old family account their father had created when they were
children.
Lucas had never known the emergency tracking feature remained active.
His vehicle stopped at a closed records facility near the East River.
Elena and Julian arrived twenty minutes later.
The building appeared empty.
Inside, they found rows of boxed files belonging to companies Damian had acquired over the previous decade.
A light shone beneath a door at the end of the corridor.
Lucas stood inside with Thomas Reed.
Between them lay the original Monarch Ridge ledger.
Elena entered.
Lucas turned sharply.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Mara disappeared from federal custody.”
Thomas adjusted his jacket.
“That was not supposed to happen.”
“You planted her in my home,” Elena said. “You copied my security key.”
Thomas did not deny it.
“I made mistakes.”
“You committed crimes.”
“I prevented something worse.”
Julian pointed to the ledger.
“Who gave the orders?”
Thomas looked at Lucas.
Lucas’s jaw tightened.
“Elena,” he said, “you need to leave.”
She stared at her brother.
“Were you working with Thomas?”
“I was trying to find out who was.”
Thomas suddenly reached for the ledger.
Lucas grabbed his wrist.
The overhead lights shattered.
The room fell into darkness.
A metal door slammed.
By the time Julian activated his phone light, Thomas was on the floor with a bleeding cut above his eyebrow.
The ledger was gone.
So was Lucas.
Elena ran into the corridor.
A fire door was closing at the far end.
She reached it seconds too late.
On the floor lay Lucas’s special Voss share certificate.
Beside it was a small recording device.
Elena pressed play.
Veronica’s voice filled the corridor.
“Damian will take the fall. Thomas will destroy the records. And when Elena loses control, Lucas will deliver the company to us.”
A man answered.
May you like
His voice had been electronically altered.
“Then make sure neither Voss heir survives the final vote.”
