Chapter 7 - THE TRAITOR
Ben stood in the doorway holding a pistol with both hands.
His face was pale.
“I’m sorry.”
Maya stared at the quiet busboy who had helped them twice.
“You locked us in the pantry.”
“I didn’t want to.”
Julian stepped forward.
Ben raised the gun.
“Don’t.”
“Where is Gabriel?” Maya asked.
“Reed moved him to the loading dock.”
“Why are you helping them?”
Ben’s eyes filled with tears.
“My mother needs a transplant. Eleanor moved her to the top of the list. She said she’d remove her if I refused.”
Arthur’s anger turned cold.
“She used a patient as leverage.”
“She uses everyone.”
Maya softened her voice.
“Ben, give me the gun. Captain Brooks can protect your mother.”
Before he could answer, a shot cracked from the hallway.
Ben dropped.
The bullet struck his shoulder.
Dr. Reed appeared at the far end with another gun.
“Move,” he shouted.
Julian kicked the archive door shut as Reed fired again.
The bullet tore through a cabinet.
Arthur pressed a hand against Ben’s wound.
Maya searched for another exit.
Behind a shelf, she found a narrow maintenance tunnel.
They crawled through and emerged near the loading dock.
A black van sped toward the ramp.
Gabriel’s face appeared behind the rear window.
Maya ran after it.
Julian grabbed a parked delivery cart and slammed it into the van’s path.
The driver swerved.
The van crashed into a steel post.
The rear doors burst open.
Gabriel rolled onto the pavement.
But Eleanor was not inside.
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Only a phone lay on the floor, playing a live video of the ballroom.
Onscreen, Eleanor stood behind Arthur’s twelve-year-old granddaughter, Sophie, with a blade against the child’s throat.
