CHAPTER 4 – The Memory Card No One Was Supposed to See
Every eye in the ballroom shifted to the giant screen.
The message remained frozen.
SHE WAS NEVER JUST A STRANGER.
Then the lights went out.
Women screamed.
Children cried.
For seven terrifying seconds, the entire hotel was swallowed by darkness.
When the emergency lights flickered back on...
The swimming coach was gone.
Only the broken zip ties lay on the floor.
"He escaped!" someone shouted.
The billionaire's security team rushed outside, but it was already too late.
A black SUV sped out of the underground garage and disappeared into the night.
The billionaire turned toward the woman.
"We're leaving. Now."
Minutes later, they arrived at his private penthouse overlooking the city.
The room was surrounded by armed security.
The billionaire carefully placed the tiny memory card into his laptop.
The screen loaded.
Static.
Then...
A frightened woman appeared.
It was his wife.
She looked exhausted, with bruises on her face.
"If you're watching this," she whispered, "they've already taken me."
The billionaire clenched his fists.
Behind him, both boys began to cry.
His wife continued.
"I discovered who has been stealing billions from the Hale Foundation."
She paused, struggling to breathe.
"It wasn't just Victor..."
The video glitched.
Then another face appeared behind her.
The woman in the gray suit gasped.
She recognized him instantly.
The man with the silver snake bracelet.
But this time...
His face was perfectly clear.
The billionaire looked at the woman.
"You know him?"
She nodded slowly.
"My mother called him..."
"The Collector."
The billionaire frowned.
"Who is he?"
The woman took a deep breath.
"My mother spent twenty years hiding me from him."
Silence filled the room.
"He doesn't steal money."
"He steals identities."
The billionaire stared at her in confusion.
"What does that mean?"
She swallowed hard.
"It means... the man you think is Victor Hale..."
"...may not be Victor at all."
Before anyone could respond...
The penthouse security alarms suddenly blared.
A sniper's laser beam appeared on the billionaire's chest.
Then another.
And another.
A cold voice echoed through the building's speakers.
"Return the girl..."
"...or everyone in this room dies."
The billionaire slowly stepped in front of the woman.
For the first time in years...
May you like
The richest man in the city realized the woman who had saved his sons...
Was the real target all along.
