Chapter 16 - The Price of Silence
Wind swept across the empty pier.
Lucia stopped twenty feet from Charles and Marcus.
She carried the drive in a clear plastic case.
Marcus looked behind her.
“Where is Ward?”
“He does not know I came.”
Marcus smiled.
“You are a better liar than I expected.”
Charles kept the gun pointed at her chest.
“Give us the drive.”
“Show me Sofi.”
“She is safe,” Marcus said.
“You showed me a photograph.”
“I want to hear her voice.”
Charles stepped closer.
“You are in no position to demand anything.”
Lucia looked at him.
“My daughter stopped your plan with one sentence.”
“You should be careful what you assume about our position.”
Marcus’s smile vanished.
He took Charles aside and spoke too quietly for Lucia to hear.
She used the moment to bend the metal card inside her shoe.
The locator activated.
Three blocks away, Alex watched the signal appear on Ruiz’s tablet.
Lucia moved toward the edge of the pier.
Marcus approached her.
“You believe Javier was a hero.”
“He was.”
“He was a technician who could not understand that companies require sacrifice.”
Lucia’s hand tightened around the case.
“You knew the platform would fail.”
“I knew there was a risk.”
“You chose the risk for men who never received a choice.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Your husband could have taken the money.”
“I offered him enough to move his family anywhere.”
“He refused.”
“That was his mistake.”
The confession traveled through a microphone sewn into Lucia’s coat button.
Ruiz recorded every word.
Charles noticed the button.
His expression changed.
He lunged forward and tore it from the fabric.
“Who is listening?”
Lucia stepped back.
Marcus struck her across the face.
The drive fell.
Charles picked it up.
Police sirens rose in the distance.
Marcus turned on Charles.
“You said she was alone.”
Charles raised the gun.
“You said the signal was clean.”
Alex and Ruiz’s team entered the pier from opposite ends.
Marcus grabbed Lucia and held a knife near her throat.
Charles pointed the gun at Alex.
“No one moves.”
Alex stopped.
“Let her go.”
Marcus pulled Lucia backward toward a waiting boat.
Charles opened the drive case.
Inside was a blank device.
Lucia had brought a decoy.
Charles stared at her with disbelief.
She smiled through the blood at the corner of her mouth.
“My husband taught me not to give the truth to thieves.”
Marcus’s control shattered.
He raised the knife.
A small voice echoed from behind the police line.
“Mommy!”
Sofi had slipped from Julian’s grip after seeing Lucia.
Marcus looked toward the child.
That single distraction was enough.
May you like
Lucia drove her heel down onto his foot and threw herself sideways.
A shot exploded across the pier.
