Chapter 4 - The Trap is Sprung
Norah froze, the ledger heavy in her hand.
Stellan walked into the room, his face a mask of absolute, terrifying coldness. "I wanted to believe you," he said, his voice dangerously quiet. "I wanted to believe that there was actually someone pure left in this godforsaken city. But you’re just like the rest of them, Norah."
"Stellan, please," Norah gasped, tears welling in her eyes. "It's not what you think."
"You came into my home. You used my daughter to get close to me. And now you're stealing my life's work to hand it to the Syndicate." He raised the gun, aiming it directly between her eyes. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't end this right now."
"They have Danny!" Norah cried out, the truth tearing from her throat. "They have my brother! They threatened to kill him if I didn't get this to them!"
Stellan’s expression didn't soften, but his eyes narrowed. "Your brother is the leak."
Norah closed her eyes, nodding slowly. "Yes. He got into gambling debt. They forced him to give up Mia's schedule. He didn't know they were going to kill her, Stellan, I swear. He's an idiot, but he's not a murderer."
"He set up my daughter to die," Stellan roared, his voice shaking the walls. "That makes him a dead man."
"Then kill me instead!" Norah stepped forward, pressing the barrel of his gun directly against her forehead. "I'm the one who pulled Mia out of the river. If you're going to kill my brother, you might as well kill me too, because I won't survive watching him die."
Stellan stared at her, his chest rising and falling heavily. The silence in the room was suffocating. For a long, agonizing moment, Norah braced for the gunshot.
Instead, Stellan lowered the weapon.
"You really would die for him," he murmured, a strange, dark fascination in his eyes.
"He's my brother."
Stellan walked up to her, his hand reaching out to cup her jaw, his thumb wiping away a tear. "The Syndicate thinks they have won. They think they have broken my walls. But they don't know who they are dealing with." He took the ledger from her hand. "We are going to give them what they want. But we are going to give it to them on my terms."
May you like
"What do you mean?"
"We set a trap," Stellan said, a deadly smile spreading across his face. "You will deliver the ledger to their meeting point tomorrow morning. But my men will be waiting. We will wipe the Syndicate out, once and for all. And your brother's debt will be settled... in blood."
