The Adviser at the Elevator
Chapter 04 - The Adviser at the Elevator
Marcus positioned himself beside the elevator.
Adrian moved Sofia and Leo behind the office desk.
The doors opened.
Victor stepped out alone.
He looked at the ledger in Adrian’s hands and sighed.
“I hoped your father destroyed that.”
Adrian’s voice remained calm.
“You told me Sofia died.”
“I told you what kept you alive.”
Victor claimed Salvatore ordered Sofia’s disappearance after learning she intended to cooperate with federal agents. Victor said he staged the warehouse fire to help her escape.
Sofia laughed bitterly.
“You locked the door.”
“I gave you a window.”
“You sent Cross to control me.”
“To protect the organization from whatever fear made you reveal.”
Adrian placed the digital recorder on the desk.
Victor’s face changed when Salvatore’s voice played.
He recovered quickly.
“A dying man rewriting his crimes.”
“You were taking money.”
“I was keeping the family solvent while you spent years pretending the hotels made us legitimate.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Did you kill my father?”
Victor did not answer.
The lights failed.
A shot struck the wall beside the recorder.
Marcus pulled Adrian down.
Emergency lighting flashed red. The private elevator began descending.
Victor had vanished.
The digital recorder was gone.
Sofia remained behind the desk with Leo.
Marcus checked the passage.
A concealed panel behind the bookshelves stood open.
Victor had not come to negotiate.
He came to remove the only voice that could identify him.
Adrian secured the ledger.
Leo held up the toy car.
A tiny blue light blinked beneath its windshield.
“My grandpa put another voice in here,” he said.
Sofia stared.
She had never noticed.
The toy contained a second memory chip.
May you like
Salvatore expected the first recorder to disappear.
His backup had traveled for seven years in the hands of a child Victor believed he controlled.
