Chapter 5 - The Fortress
Within twenty minutes, Elena was whisked away in the back of an armored Maybach, escorted by two black SUVs. The neon lights of the city blurred through rain-slicked tinted windows. Next to her, Alexander tapped methodically on his encrypted tablet, his expression unreadable under the glow of the screen.
""Where are we going?"" Elena asked, rubbing her bare arms to banish the lingering chill.
""To the only place Senator Ward cannot touch: the De Ville compound in upstate New York,"" Alexander replied without looking up. ""A high-security perimeter. Self-sustaining. Armed.""
""I never asked for this war, Alexander,"" she said, exhaustion thick in her tone. ""I lived in a three-bedroom suburban house, cooking Julian dinner, clipping coupons, trying to be what he wanted. Now you're talking about stolen millions, murdered fathers, and corrupt senators. What if I genuinely don't remember where the ledger is?""
Alexander finally stopped typing. He closed the tablet and turned his full, searing attention to her.
""Memory is a strange mechanism, Elena. Trauma locks it away in a safe box, but the right key always opens it. Arthur Sterling was a genius cryptographer. He wouldn't have handed a seven-year-old girl a paper book or a flash drive.""
Elena frowned. ""Then what did he give me?""
""You said it yourself on the terrace. A cracked locket.""
Elena instinctively reached for her collarbone, but her fingers found only bare skin. ""My locket... Julian took it three months ago. He claimed he took it to an antique jeweler to fix the broken hinge.""
Alexander’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched beneath his beard. ""Damn him.""
The car suddenly lurched violently as the sound of tires screeching echoed through the quiet highway.
""Brace!"" the driver yelled through the partition.
A heavy industrial semi-truck slammed into their front escort SUV, flipping it across the median in an explosion of sparks and glass. Elena screamed as the Maybach spun out of control, tires screeching in vain against the wet asphalt before violently sliding into an embankment.
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Smoke filled the cabin. Alexander threw his arm across Elena, absorbing the brunt of the impact against the door.
As the world stopped spinning, red laser dots danced through the shattered windshield, aligning directly on Alexander's chest.
