BENEATH THE SILENCE

CHAPTER 14: DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

The silence between Eliana and Marcus was sharp enough to cut skin.

Marcus's finger twitched on the trigger, but he didn't pull it. Not yet.

"You're bluffing," he said.

"I'm not." Eliana stared him down, heart thudding like thunder. "You trained Damian to be a strategist. He trained me."

Marcus's eyes flickered. Behind the glass, Damian's voice roared.

"Eliana, stop! You don't know what you're doing—he'll never let us walk out!"

But Eliana didn't flinch.

"I'm offering you a deal," she said, locking eyes with Marcus. "Release him. Let us go. And I'll call off the leak. I'll destroy the drive. You walk away with your empire intact."

Marcus let out a low chuckle.

"That's not how this works."

"You're running out of time."

He paced, the gun now hanging loosely at his side. For the first time, the confidence in his eyes cracked.

"How do I know you're not lying?" he asked.

"Because if I was lying," Eliana said calmly, "you'd already be in handcuffs. This is your only chance."

Marcus studied her.

Then, with a flick of his hand, he signaled a guard.

"Bring him," he said.

The guard opened the cell. Damian stumbled out, cuffed, bleeding — but alive.

Marcus turned back to Eliana.

"Now. Cancel it."

Eliana took out her phone, opened the auto-send timer. She input the password and hit CANCEL.

A red icon flashed:

Scheduled Leak Cancelled.

Marcus smiled.

"Smart girl."

He turned to his men.

"Let them go. If I ever see either of you again... I won't be so kind."

⸻

Thirty minutes later, the black car pulled up at the safe house. Didi ran out, eyes wide, as Damian leaned heavily on Eliana's shoulder.

"You got him?" she whispered.

"We did," Eliana breathed. "But I had to cancel the leak."

Didi frowned.

"He'll bury the evidence."

"No, he won't," Tunji said from behind them, stepping out of the shadows. "Because I didn't trust that snake."

He pulled out a second flash drive.

"Two copies. One he doesn't know about."

Damian smiled weakly.

"You beautiful bastard."

Eliana collapsed beside him on the sofa, exhaustion finally winning. But even as her body shut down, her mind stayed alert.

Marcus might have let them go...

But the war was far from over.