Chapter 6 - The Trap Closes
Within forty minutes, two large black sedans pulled up behind Veils, and Leo was dragged into the kitchen by his collar. He was pale, sweating profusely despite the freezing morning air, and his left hand was wrapped tightly in a thick athletic bandage.
They threw him onto the floor in front of the marble conference table.
"Tell us about the lemon cleaner, Leo," Marcus said softly, walking around the table like a predator closing in on a wounded deer. "And tell us why your fingerprints are all over the biometric lock on the third floor."
Leo cast a frantic look around the room, his eyes landing on the forged transfer papers. He opened his mouth, swallowed hard, and tried to bluff. "I don't know what you're talking about! Dominic’s laundress did it! Her badge was—"
"Her badge was stolen from her locker while she was changing diapers for her granddaughter," Marcus interrupted, his voice dropping an octave into a chilling register. "And you forgot one crucial detail, Leo. Dominic didn't die."
The color drained entirely from Leo’s face. He stopped breathing.
"The doctors just called down from the hospital," Marcus continued, stepping closer until he towered over the cowering man. "Dominic woke up ten minutes ago. His first words weren't about the empire. They were about the little girl who answered his phone. And his second words were an inquiry into who had access to his private study while he was out of town last weekend."
Leo scrambled backward on the Persian rug, hitting his spine against the heavy mahogany sideboard. "It was Julian! I swear to God it was Julian! He promised me fifty thousand dollars! He said Dominic was on his way out anyway, and we just needed to push the paperwork through before the board meeting!"
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Marcus didn't flinch. He signaled to the guard standing by the door.
"Lock Leo in the basement holding room. Notify the board meeting that it's cancelled—and invite Julian to a special family dinner at Veils tonight. Tell him his uncle wants to discuss the transition of power."
