Chapter 7 - Secrets Revealed
Heat radiated through the soles of Sebastian’s boots as he kicked through the burning wooden pallets in the main warehouse bay. Thick black smoke choked the air, reducing visibility to a few feet.
He pulled the wet cloth over his nose, pushing forward toward the central control room. Sparks showered from the ceiling like golden rain. Iron beams groaned under the intense heat.
He reached the control room door, found it jammed by fallen debris, and slammed his shoulder against it with all his strength. Pain shot through his wounded shoulder, but he ignored it, driving his body against the frame until the metal gave way.
Inside, the emergency manual override lever was glowing red under the ambient heat. Sebastian pulled off his heavy gloves, wrapped his hands in the damp cloth, and pulled the lever down with a roar of effort.
A deafening hiss echoed through the building as the halon fire suppression system activated inside the central vault, sealing the medical supplies in a nitrogen-rich, fireproof pocket.
Sebastian coughed violently, his lungs burning. As he turned to exit, his boot struck something heavy on the floor.
It was an iron lockbox, half-melted, thrown from the desk of the warehouse manager. Inside lay a ledger—and a satellite phone.
Sebastian picked up the phone. The screen was still illuminated. The last dialed number was saved under a name that made Sebastian’s blood run colder than the surrounding fire.
Dante.
Sebastian froze. The puzzle pieces, scattered for fourteen months, suddenly snapped into place with terrifying clarity.
It wasn't Audrey who had betrayed Catherine’s location. It was Dante.
Dante had been selling syndicate intelligence to the Valenti family for years. When Catherine realized Dante was embezzling funds from the syndicate’s charitable trust, she fled—not from Sebastian, but from Dante, who had threatened to kill her if she spoke. Audrey had hidden Catherine to keep her out of Dante’s crosshairs while Catherine tried to gather evidence against him.
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Audrey hadn't been protecting herself by staying silent. She had been protecting him—keeping Sebastian from being blind-sided by his most trusted lieutenant until she could prove the truth.
The roof above Sebastian gave a horrific metallic shriek. A massive steel girder buckled, crashing down directly toward him.
