Chapter 6 - THE TRAITOR IN THE CARThe SUV suddenly swerved sharply, nearly flying off the slippery mountain road.
"What the hell are you talking about, Katherine?!" Frank barked, slamming his hands onto the steering wheel to regain control of the vehicle. "I just saved all of your lives!"
I spun around in my seat, staring at Katherine in complete disbelief. "Katherine, what are you saying? Frank is my brother-in-law! He’s been helping us the entire night!"
Caleb looked at Katherine, his breathing shallow and rapid. "Katherine... no... Uncle Frank wouldn't..."
"Wouldn't he?" Katherine said, her voice dropping into a deadly calm tone. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black flash drive. "When I breached Arthur Pendelton's private financial server last week, I didn't just find my fake IP address logs. I found the banking transactions that funded Beatrice’s secret containment in Switzerland for six years. Monthly payments of fifty thousand dollars."
She pointed the flash drive directly at the back of Frank’s head.
"The payments weren't coming from Pendelton Enterprises, Mary. They were coming from Vanguard Logistics. That’s your company, Frank."
I felt as if the air had been violently sucked out of my lungs. I turned slowly to look at my brother-in-law.
Frank’s knuckles were white as snow against the steering wheel. The frantic, panicked expression he had worn all night completely melted away, replaced by an eerie, stone-cold glare.
"Frank..." I whispered, my voice trembling. "Tell me she's lying. Tell me you didn't..."
Frank didn't look at me. He kept his eyes fixed on the dark, winding road ahead.
"Robert was always the golden boy," Frank said, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion. "Our father gave him the house, the family business, everything. I built Vanguard Logistics from nothing, but five years ago, I was facing bankruptcy. Arthur Pendelton came to me with a deal."
"You monstrous bastard..." Caleb hissed from the backseat, trying to push himself up, but collapsing back in pain.
"Arthur needed a clean shell company to launder his stolen millions and pay off the Swiss facility," Frank continued, completely unbothered. "He paid me ten million dollars to use Vanguard Logistics as his shell corporation. All I had to do was make sure Robert kept his mouth shut. When Robert hesitated six years ago, I was the one who told Arthur that Beatrice was at the house. I was the one who handed Beatrice over to Arthur's men!"
"You sold out your own niece’s husband! You sold out Beatrice!" I screamed, lunging across the console to grab his shirt. "You ruined my son's life!"
Frank violently shoved me back into the passenger seat with one arm while keeping his other hand on the wheel. "I saved this family from poverty! Robert was weak! Caleb was a crying, pathetic mess! I made sure we stayed rich!"
"And what about tonight?" Katherine asked coldly. "Why save us tonight?"
Frank let out a chilling chuckle. "Save you? You think I’m taking you to my cabin to hide?"
May you like
He reached down to his waist, pulling out a hidden pistol, and slammed the accelerator to the floor.
"I'm taking you to Arthur. Once I hand over the silver key and the three of you disappear forever, Arthur is transferring fifty percent of Pendelton Enterprises to my name. It was never about revenge, Caleb. It was always about business."
