CHAPTER 8 — The Game Was Never About Money
Roman stared in disbelief.
"The funeral..."
Theodore chuckled.
"A masterpiece."
"But..."
"I buried you."
"No."
The old billionaire smiled.
"You buried a dying man who volunteered to save his family's future."
Roman clenched his fists.
"You murdered Evelyn."
Theodore's smile faded.
"Evelyn made a fatal mistake."
"She believed kindness was stronger than power."
Roman lunged forward.
"You stole my son!"
"I protected him."
Theodore's voice remained calm.
"I couldn't allow Blackwood Global to fall into weak hands."
Roman laughed bitterly.
"You call murder protection?"
"I call it survival."
The old man pressed a button hidden beneath his wheelchair.
A massive screen descended from the ceiling.
Old security footage began playing.
Roman's heart stopped.
The video showed the night Evelyn died.
She stood on the balcony arguing...
...not with Celeste...
...but with Theodore.
Seconds later...
Someone rushed toward them.
It was Clara.
Then another figure entered the frame.
Celeste.
Roman watched in horror.
Evelyn slipped backward.
Clara grabbed her arm.
Celeste tried to pull Clara away.
Then—
The video froze.
The crucial moment was missing.
Theodore smiled.
"Interesting, isn't it?"
Roman roared,
"Finish the video!"
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I erased it."
Roman's breathing became ragged.
"You monster."
Theodore leaned closer.
"No."
"I'm a businessman."
Then he revealed something even worse.
"I didn't invite you here to discuss the past."
"I invited you to make a choice."
The giant screen changed.
Roman's blood turned to ice.
Four live camera feeds appeared.
Camera One.
Amelia was locked inside an abandoned warehouse.
Camera Two.
Noah was tied to a chair in another location.
Camera Three.
Clara was trapped inside a burning building.
Camera Four.
Celeste sat handcuffed in a dark room, crying hysterically.
Roman stared at the screens.
"What have you done?"
Theodore smiled.
"They're all alive."
"For now."
Roman reached for his phone.
No signal.
The mausoleum had become a prison.
Theodore rolled a chessboard between them.
"You always hated chess."
Roman didn't answer.
"Tonight..."
"...you finally learn why."
The old billionaire placed four chess pieces on the board.
A Queen.
A Knight.
A Bishop.
A Pawn.
"Each piece represents one life."
"You may save only one."
Roman's face twisted with rage.
"You expect me to believe that?"
Theodore calmly pressed another button.
The cameras zoomed in.
Digital countdowns appeared on every screen.
29:59...
29:58...
29:57...
Thirty minutes.
Then every location would explode.
Roman looked up.
"My children..."
Theodore interrupted him.
"Choose."
Roman's fists trembled.
"I'll save all of them."
The old billionaire laughed for the first time.
A cold, terrifying laugh that echoed through the crypt.
"No, son."
"You still don't understand."
He leaned forward until his face was only inches away from Roman's.
"The bombs..."
"...aren't the real trap."
Roman's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
Theodore smiled.
"One of those four people..."
"...has been working for me all along."
Lightning illuminated the mausoleum.
Roman slowly turned toward the four live screens.
Each terrified face looked real.
Each cry sounded genuine.
But somewhere among them...
May you like
...someone was secretly betraying everyone else.
And Roman had less than thirty minutes to discover who.
