Chapter 9 - THE ULTIMATE BETRAYALMercer froze, his hand hovering over the keyboard. "Nora, don't be stupid. If you destroy that chip, the forty million is locked forever in an untraceable vault! No one gets it!"
"Good," I spat, taking a step closer, the blade resting directly against my skin. "Because none of you deserve to breathe another breath of free air."
Judith’s eyes narrowed into slits. She reached into her cream coat and pulled out a small silver syringe. "You poor, foolish girl. You think you're brave? You're just another charity case Graham brought home. Clara thought she was special too. So did Sarah. But in the end, they all bled out on the same concrete floor."
She took a step toward me, raising the syringe. "Give me your wrist, or I’ll make sure your death takes days instead of minutes."
I didn't back away. I looked at Dr. Mercer.
"She’s going to kill you next, Evan," I said, my voice dripping with icy truth. "You really think she’s going to share forty million dollars with the doctor who knows every murder she’s committed for twenty years? Look at her coat pocket."
Mercer blinked, his eyes darting toward Judith.
In Judith’s left coat pocket, the outline of a heavy metallic shape was clearly visible.
A silenced pistol.
"Evan, don't listen to her!" Judith snapped, her voice spiking with panic. "She’s trying to stall!"
"Show me your left hand, Judith," Mercer said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, dark register. He stopped typing on the keyboard. "Show me what's in your pocket."
"Evan, we've been partners for two decades!" Judith yelled. "She’s lying!"
"THEN SHOW ME YOUR HAND!" Mercer roared.
Judith didn't show him her hand. Instead, she whipped the silenced pistol out of her pocket and aimed it straight at Mercer’s chest.
THWIP. THWIP.
Two shots echoed softly in the contained room.
Dr. Mercer’s eyes went wide. He gasped, clutching his chest as dark blood blossomed across his pristine white lab coat. He stumbled backward, crashing into the server rack, sliding down to the floor in a heap of dying breath.
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Judith turned the barrel slowly toward me, a cold, triumphant smile spreading across her face.
"Men are so easily manipulated," she sneered, her finger tightening on the trigger. "Now, Nora... give me your wrist, or I'll take it off your corpse."
