Chapter 4 - The Web of Betrayal
"I must admit, Nathan," Arthur Pendelton sighed, stepping into the cramped apartment with an air of mild annoyance. "I didn't expect you to figure it out this quickly. You were always so conveniently blinded by your grief."
"Arthur," Nathan growled, instinctively stepping in front of Elizabeth and Lily, shielding them with his body. "You framed me. You made my wife think I wanted her dead."
"Framed is such an ugly word," Arthur mocked, adjusting his silk tie. "Let's call it brand protection. Elizabeth’s cellular reaction to our gene therapy wasn't a failure—it was a mutation. Her blood contains the perfect sequence to synthesize a cure for terminal lung diseases. A cure worth fifty billion dollars."
Arthur smiled, a chilling, soulless expression.
"But she wanted to give it away for free. She wanted Reed Innovations to waive the patent. Can you imagine the loss of profit? So, I had to take her out of the equation. I forged your signature, convinced her you were a monster, and fake-diagnosed her to keep her isolated."
"And you," Nathan turned his glaring eyes to James. "Ten years, James. I treated you like family."
James looked down, a flicker of guilt crossing his face before it hardened. "Arthur paid for my daughter's leukemia treatment, Mr. Reed. Loyalty doesn't pay the medical bills."
"Enough melodrama," Arthur snapped, gesturing to his guards. "We’ll make this look like a tragic murder-suicide. The grieving billionaire finally tracks down the woman he believed was his dead wife, only to discover she's living a double life. In a fit of madness, he kills her, the child, and himself. It's poetic, really."
One of the guards raised his gun, pointing it directly at Nathan’s chest.
But Arthur had underestimated one thing: Nathan Reed hadn't spent the last three years just grieving. He had spent them building a high-tech fortress.
Nathan subtly pressed the crown of his luxury wristwatch three times.
A high-pitched, deafening frequency suddenly blasted from the apartment's outdated intercom system, a hack initiated by Nathan's personal security protocol. The guards cried out, clutching their ears as their coordination shattered.
"Marcus, now!" Nathan roared.
Marcus, who had been waiting in the hallway recess, lunged into the room, tackling the lead guard. Nathan threw himself forward, driving his shoulder into Arthur's chest, slamming the older man against the peeling wallpaper.
James raised his gun, his hand shaking as he aimed at Nathan.
"Don't do it, James!" Elizabeth cried out from her chair, her voice cracking. "Remember who smuggled me out! You still have a soul!"
James hesitated. That split second was all Marcus needed to disarm him, sending the pistol clattering across the floor.
"Get them out of here!" Nathan yelled, pinning Arthur to the ground as the other two guards began to recover. "Marcus, take Elizabeth and Lily! Go!"
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Marcus grabbed Elizabeth, supporting her frail frame, while Lily clung to her mother's side. They scrambled out of the apartment and down the back fire escape.
Nathan threw a heavy punch, crackling against Arthur’s jaw, before diving after them into the freezing New York night.
