Chapter 6 - A Bullet and a Confession
The gunshot echoed like a thunderclap through the vaulted gallery.
Time seemed to fracture into slow motion. Before I could even register the threat, Santiago shoved me hard to the marble floor, throwing his own body over mine to absorb the impact. A wet, sickening thud echoed, followed by a sharp gasp from Santiago.
“Santiago!” I screamed, my hands flying to his chest.
Dark crimson was already soaking rapidly through his crisp white dress shirt.
Chaos erupted around us. Marco and the remaining bodyguards unleashed a wall of suppressive fire upward, forcing Salgado’s men to scramble for cover behind marble pillars. Sirens wailed faintly in the distance, drawing closer by the second.
“Get her out of here!” Santiago coughed, blood staining his lips, though his grip on my arm remained fiercely tight.
“I’m not leaving you!” I cried, pressing my hands against the wound to stem the bleeding, tears streaming down my face.
“Lucía… listen to me,” he whispered, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an absolute, searing intensity. “The ledger... it isn't in a safe. It’s sewn into the lining of the old leather photo album in your apartment... the one your grandmother gave you. Salgado wants it because it exposes half the federal government, not just him.”
“Stop talking, you’re going to be fine!”
“I’ve survived worse,” a grim, pained smile touched his lips. “Just... remember who found you in the park.”
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Marco grabbed me firmly by the shoulders, hauling me up as two other guards laid down heavy cover fire, ushering us through a private emergency exit into the alleyway just as police cruisers swarmed the front of the gallery.
We were speeding away into the dark city night, leaving Santiago behind in the wreckage of his own empire.
