CHAPTER 7 – The Man Who Betrayed Everyone
The apartment fell into complete silence.
Every officer instinctively reached for their weapons.
The detective kept his pistol aimed directly at Richard Hale.
No one dared move.
Richard stared at him in disbelief.
"You... you've been working for me for twelve years."
The detective smiled faintly.
"I worked around you for twelve years."
His badge read:
Detective Samuel Brooks.
Richard laughed nervously.
"This is ridiculous."
"You think anyone will believe a corrupt detective over me?"
Samuel slowly reached into his jacket and pulled out a small flash drive.
"I don't need them to believe me."
"I only need them to watch."
Richard's face turned pale.
"You found it..."
Samuel nodded.
"I found everything."
"The bank transfers."
"The offshore accounts."
"The recordings."
"The murder orders."
"And every name of every official you paid."
The officers looked at one another in shock.
Richard suddenly burst into laughter.
Then the laughter stopped.
"You still don't understand."
Samuel frowned.
"What?"
"I'm not the man at the top."
The room froze.
Margaret felt a chill run through her body.
Richard slowly lowered his head.
"I built an empire..."
"But someone else built me."
Ethan, still handcuffed on the floor, looked up.
"Who?"
Richard hesitated.
For the first time in years...
He looked genuinely afraid.
Before he could answer—
BANG!
A sniper's bullet shattered the living room window.
The shot struck Samuel squarely in the shoulder.
The flash drive flew across the room.
Chaos erupted.
"Sniper!"
Officers scrambled for cover.
Another bullet smashed through the wall.
Richard dove behind the sofa.
Margaret screamed as glass rained down around her.
In the confusion, a masked figure wearing black tactical gear crashed through the broken balcony door.
He moved with terrifying speed.
One punch.
One kick.
Two officers collapsed instantly.
The intruder ignored everyone else.
He ran straight toward the flash drive.
Ethan lunged despite his handcuffs.
The two men collided violently.
For several seconds they struggled across the floor.
The masked man leaned close enough for Ethan to hear a whisper.
"I warned you never to come back."
Ethan's eyes widened.
"You..."
The masked man suddenly released him, grabbed the flash drive, and disappeared over the balcony before anyone could stop him.
Silence returned.
Samuel, bleeding heavily, forced himself to speak.
"There wasn't... just one copy..."
He coughed blood.
"I hid another one..."
Margaret knelt beside him.
"Where?"
Samuel smiled weakly.
"In the place..."
"...where your husband first met Ethan."
Margaret stared at him in confusion.
"My husband never knew Ethan."
Samuel slowly shook his head.
"That's what..."
"...they wanted you to believe."
Then Samuel lost consciousness.
May you like
Ethan closed his eyes.
The biggest lie of Margaret's life had just begun to unravel.
