Chapter 5 - Lauren’s Betrayal
As I walked out of the federal detention facility, my cell phone rang instantly. It was a call from Special Agent Thomas Sterling.
– “Captain Vance, we just received a very interesting piece of intelligence regarding your sister Lauren. It seems she isn't willing to go down empty-handed.”
I frowned, opening the door and sliding into the back seat of my SUV. – “What did she pull now?”
– “After Vance Corp. was frozen and its accounts seized, Lauren Vance immediately contacted Marcus Vance—your paternal uncle, the fugitive currently hiding overseas and the primary weapons contact for the criminal syndicates you infiltrated.”
My breath caught in my chest. Marcus Vance—the most dangerous enemy my team and I had hunted for years, the man who had ordered my assassination during an operation in the Middle East, leaving a web of scars across my back.
“Where is she?” I asked, my voice turning icy cold.
“She’s at a luxury hotel downtown, preparing to board a private jet to launder five million dollars in cash she covertly siphoned from the family charity foundation before it was frozen. She intends to use that money to buy favor with her criminal uncle and sell him all our intelligence files regarding your hidden assets in exchange for safe harbor.”
I glanced at my watch. – “Send me the exact coordinates right now. I’ll handle her myself.”
Fifteen minutes later, the black security SUV pulled up smoothly in front of the Grand Horizon luxury hotel. I stepped out, wearing a sleek black leather jacket over my tailored suit, and walked straight through the main entrance without checking in at the front desk.
The Presidential Suite was on the 45th floor.
I skipped the elevators, taking the fire escape stairs to maintain the element of surprise. Every step was cleared with professional special ops precision. Reaching room 4502, I signaled two security agents to flank the door while raising my hand for a countdown.
Three. Two. One.
The door kicked open with explosive force.
Inside, the crystal-lit suite displayed a table laden with cash stacks and transfer contracts. Lauren stood frozen, a stack of papers slipping from her hands to the carpet, while seated on the couch was a middle-aged man with a long scar running down his right cheek—Marcus Vance.
He burst into mocking laughter, but the sound died instantly in his throat when he saw me standing in the doorway.
– “Sweetheart...” Lauren panicked, backing away. “Y-you... what are you doing here?”
I stepped inside, each boot heel striking the thick carpet with solid, commanding authority. My eyes swept over the vicious uncle, then landed on my shaking younger sister.
– “Lauren,” I spoke calmly yet with bone-chilling coldness, “you really disappointed me. First faking a bracelet to tear my shirt in front of two hundred guests, and now conspiring with an international fugitive to betray your country?”
Marcus Vance whipped a pistol from his waistband, pointing it straight at my head with a sinister grin: – “You think walking in here alone is going to capture us, little girl? Back in the Middle East, I almost killed you; today, I’ll finish the job!”
Lauren screamed in terror, collapsing against the foot of the bed: – “Uncle... don’t shoot her! She’s my sister!”
– “Shut your stupid mouth!” Marcus roared. “She came here to lock us both away! If I don't shoot her, we’re both dead!”
But he severely underestimated a trained special operations officer.
Before his finger could pull the trigger, I flicked my wrist, launching a combat blade hidden in my sleeve. The razor-sharp steel cut through the air and embedded straight into Marcus’s right shoulder. He howled in agony as the pistol dropped clattering to the floor.
Two security agents rushed in behind me, pinning Marcus facedown onto the carpet and slapping handcuffs on him in a flash.
I walked up to Lauren, who was shivering like a leaf under the edge of the bed, tears and makeup smeared across her face. I knelt slightly, locking eyes with her once arrogant, contemptuous gaze, which was now filled with total despair and terror.
– “You picked the wrong side, Lauren,” I whispered softly. “Honor and family are not commodities to be auctioned off to criminals.”
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I stood straight, signaling security to haul them both away.
– “Take them. Hand Marcus over to the federal court for treason and arms smuggling. As for Lauren, compile the investigation file on her financial conspiracy with international criminals. Let the law deal out true justice.”