CHAPTER 6 — "The Warehouse Was Empty... Because They Wanted Emily Somewhere Else."
The countdown hit 00:42:16 as Emily sped through the rain.
Victoria pleaded with her over the phone.
"Emily, don't go alone! It's a trap!"
Emily tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
"If Sophia is really alive, I can't risk waiting."
She hung up.
Thirty-eight minutes later, Emily arrived at the abandoned warehouse shown in Ryan's video.
The massive steel doors were already open.
Inside...
Silence.
No guards.
No Sophia.
Only a single chair in the center of the room.
The ropes that had supposedly tied Sophia were neatly placed on the floor.
Emily's heart sank.
"I'm too late..."
Suddenly...
A slow clap echoed through the darkness.
Ryan stepped out from behind a concrete pillar.
He wasn't smiling anymore.
"You finally understand."
Emily glared at him.
"Where is my sister?"
Ryan looked almost... guilty.
"I never wanted her involved."
Emily frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Ryan sighed.
"The video was fake."
"The warehouse was fake."
"The countdown was fake."
Emily's anger exploded.
"You lied to me!"
"No," Ryan answered quietly.
"I saved you."
Before Emily could react, a deafening explosion shattered every window in the building.
BOOM!
The entire warehouse shook violently.
Emily was thrown to the ground.
Outside, flames erupted from the parking lot.
Three black SUVs surrounded the building.
More than twenty armed men poured out.
Each wore the same silver serpent emblem on their jackets.
Ryan's face turned pale.
"They found us..."
Emily stared at him in disbelief.
"You know these people?"
Ryan nodded slowly.
"I worked for Charles Whitmore."
"But I was never his partner."
"I was his prisoner."
He reached into his coat and handed Emily a worn leather notebook.
"My job was to destroy anyone who got close to the truth."
Emily opened the notebook.
Every page contained names.
Business leaders.
Judges.
Police commissioners.
Senators.
Some names were crossed out in red.
At the very last page...
Emily froze.
There was one final target.
EMILY CARTER
Beneath her name was a chilling instruction.
"Eliminate after locating Subject S."
Emily looked up.
"Subject S... Sophia?"
Ryan nodded.
Charles never cared about the family fortune.
He never cared about revenge.
He wanted Sophia because she possessed something far more valuable.
Something hidden by Emily's father twenty-two years ago.
Just then...
A voice echoed through the warehouse speakers.
Deep.
Calm.
Terrifying.
"Ryan..."
"You disappoint me."
A hidden elevator slowly rose from beneath the concrete floor.
Standing inside...
In his wheelchair...
Was Charles Whitmore himself.
He smiled as if he had already won.
Then he looked directly at Emily.
"Your father didn't hide money."
"He hid the one thing that can destroy my empire."
Charles leaned forward, his eyes cold as ice.
"And your sister is the only person who knows where it is."
Ryan suddenly stepped in front of Emily.
For the first time in his life...
He chose to protect her.
As Charles raised a pistol, Ryan shouted only three words.
"RUN, EMILY... NOW!"
A gunshot echoed through the warehouse.
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Ryan collapsed to the floor.
And Emily screamed as blood spread across the concrete...
