Chapter 6 - The Inner Circle’s Treason"Marcus," Alexander whispered, the name tasting like ash in his mouth.
Senator Prescott peered over the edge of the desk, squinting at the screen. "Thorne? Your COO? But... Marcus has been your right-hand man since we acquired the Pacific shipping lanes! He has no motive to betray you!"
"He has every motive," Grace said, sitting up and wiping a streak of dust from her cheek. "Look at the financial logs on the second partition of the drive. Marcus wasn't just managing operations. He was liquidating Mercer Global's assets behind your back through shell companies registered in Zurich."
Alexander didn't speak. He stared at the monitor, his mind piecing together the horrifying puzzle.
Marcus had been the one who arranged the security detail for his mother’s estate. Marcus had been the one who handled the medical examiner’s initial report. And Marcus was the one who had convinced Alexander to fast-track the merger with Madeline’s family to consolidate debt.
"He played us all," Alexander said, his voice terrifyingly calm. He stood up slowly, walking over to the private wall safe behind his father’s desk. He punched in his personal biometric code.
"Alexander, what are you doing?" Grace asked, rising to her feet.
"If Marcus has the physical files from the vault," Alexander said, pulling a heavy, custom-engraved Walther PPK from the hidden compartment, "he’s planning to board the midnight flight to Geneva out of Teterboro Airport. And he’s going to use Project Janus to strip the company bare before the board can vote tomorrow morning."
Madeline stopped struggling against her handcuffs, her eyes wide with sudden realization. "Marcus... he called me yesterday. He said if the merger fell through, I wouldn't have to worry about my father's debts anymore. He told me he was taking over."
Alexander looked down at Madeline with pure disgust. "You knew."
"I didn't know he was going to kill Eleanor!" Madeline sobbed, shrinking back. "I swear to God, Alexander, I only thought he was going to force her into retirement!"
Before Alexander could reply, the heavy iron-reinforced doors of the library shuddered. A muffled explosion echoed from the hallway outside.
May you like
Boom.
The electronic lock sparked, smoking heavily as the security system went offline entirely. The power flickered out completely, plunging the library into total darkness, save for the pale light of the storm outside.
