The traitor's game
854 Words
Dangerous Addiction
Chapter Five: The Traitor's Game
The stranger smiled as he leaned against the closed door.
He looked to be in his early thirties, impeccably dressed in a black suit, his blond hair neatly combed back. There was nothing threatening about his appearance.
It was his eyes that unsettled Elena.
They were too calm.
Too confident.
"Who are you?" she demanded, clutching the letter tightly behind her back.
The man chuckled.
"I should be asking you that."
"I asked first."
"Fair enough."
He took a slow step forward.
"My name is Victor Kane."
The name struck Elena like a bolt of lightning.
Victor Kane.
The very name Adrian had written in his journal.
The man Damien had once called family.
She instinctively stepped backward.
"You know who I am."
"I've heard of you."
"I'm sure you have."
His smile widened.
"And judging by the letter in your hand, you've heard only one side of the story."
Before Elena could answer, the study door burst open.
Damien stood in the doorway, his expression colder than she'd ever seen.
"Step away from her."
Victor sighed dramatically.
"You always make such dramatic entrances."
"You weren't invited."
"No," Victor replied, "but neither was she."
The room fell silent.
Damien moved until he was standing between Victor and Elena.
"I'll ask once."
"Leave."
Victor raised both hands.
"As you wish."
He looked directly at Elena before walking past them.
"Be careful who you believe, Miss Hart."
"The truth has two faces."
Then he disappeared down the hallway.
---
The silence he left behind was almost unbearable.
Elena turned toward Damien.
"You told me he betrayed your family."
"He did."
"He says there's another side."
"There always is."
"Then tell me yours."
Damien remained quiet for a long moment before speaking.
"My father built an empire."
"Legal?"
"Not entirely."
She appreciated his honesty.
"When my father died, Adrian wanted to leave that life behind."
"And you?"
"I believed we could change it from within."
"What about Victor?"
"He believed power mattered more than people."
Damien walked to the window.
"Three years ago, Adrian uncovered evidence that someone inside the organization was selling information to our rivals."
"And?"
"Two days later..."
His voice almost broke.
"...Adrian's car exploded."
Elena's heart sank.
"You think Victor did it."
"I know he benefited from it."
"But you can't prove it."
"No."
---
That night Elena couldn't sleep.
The mansion was unusually quiet.
She kept replaying Victor's words.
The truth has two faces.
Around two in the morning, she heard footsteps outside her bedroom.
She slowly opened the door.
One of the guards hurried past without noticing her.
Another followed.
Something was wrong.
She quietly made her way downstairs.
The front doors were open.
Rain poured outside.
Damien stood in the courtyard speaking urgently into a phone.
"No."
He paused.
"Lock down every entrance."
Another pause.
"Find her."
Elena frowned.
Find who?
Damien ended the call and turned.
Relief flashed across his face when he saw her.
"There you are."
"You were looking for me?"
"No."
His expression changed.
"I was looking for Maya."
Elena's stomach dropped.
"My friend?"
Damien nodded grimly.
"She disappeared an hour ago."
---
Back at the city, Maya had finished her late shift at Velvet Lounge.
She never made it home.
Her abandoned car had been found in an empty parking lot.
Inside was only one thing.
A folded piece of paper.
Written across it in black ink were six chilling words.
Bring Elena, or lose everything.
---
The following morning, guilt consumed Elena.
"This is happening because of me."
"No," Damien said firmly.
"It's happening because someone wants to control us."
"I'm going to the police."
"You can."
She looked surprised.
"I thought you'd stop me."
"If you don't trust me enough to stay, I won't force you."
She searched his face.
For the first time since they'd met, she saw no command.
Only concern.
It made her even more uncertain.
---
Hours later, as they reviewed the evidence in Damien's study, Elena unfolded Adrian's unfinished letter once more.
This time she noticed something she had missed before.
Tiny numbers were written in the corner of the page.
"Damien."
He looked up.
"What is it?"
"I don't think these are random."
He studied them carefully.
A slow realization crossed his face.
"They're coordinates."
"Coordinates to where?"
He immediately opened a map.
The location pointed to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.
A warehouse Adrian had owned years before his death.
Damien looked at Elena.
"If Adrian hid something there..."
"...it could prove who betrayed him," she finished.
"And it might tell us why someone is willing to kidnap Maya."
Outside, thunder echoed across the dark sky.
Neither of them noticed the black SUV parked beyond the estate gates.
Inside, Victor Kane lowered a pair of binoculars.
"They're going to the warehouse," one of his men said.
Victor smiled.
"Exactly as planned."
He slipped on a pair of leather gloves and reached for a pistol lying on the passenger seat.
"Let them find the truth."
His smile slowly faded.
"Some truths come with a body count."
- Writer
