Chapter 8: The Price of Treason
The text message on the burner phone seemed to drain the remaining warmth from Alejandro’s blood. He stared at the glowing screen, his hands shaking so violently that he nearly dropped the device. He had completely forgotten about the middleman.
Two months ago, a mysterious broker named Chen had contacted him on an encrypted messaging app, offering a massive fortune in exchange for the core security blueprints of Vance Enterprises’ latest cloud software. Alejandro had accepted a two-million-dollar advanced deposit, which he had secretly used to clear his mother's massive gambling debts in Macau. He had promised to deliver the final decryption keys by the end of this week.
But now, his system access was wiped. He couldn't log into the servers even if his life depended on it. And according to the text, Chen didn't care about his domestic problems.
"What is it, Alejandro?" Carmela asked, catching up to him, wiping her brow with a stained silk handkerchief. "Why did you stop? Is it Victoria? Did she change her mind?"
Alejandro quickly stuffed the burner phone back into his pocket, his face pale as a ghost. "No... it’s nothing. Just a spam message. Let’s keep moving."
"I can't walk another step, Alejandro!" Carmela whimpered, collapsing onto one of the leather suitcases on the sidewalk. "My feet are bleeding! Look at this neighborhood—it’s filthy! There are factories everywhere! We need to find a solution! Can't you call one of your old college friends? What about Julian? His father owns a shipping company!"
"Julian blocked my number weeks ago when he found out the company was auditing our logistics contracts, Mom!" Alejandro snapped, his voice filled with venom. "Nobody is going to help us! Everyone in our social circle knows Victoria runs the show! The moment she cut the strings, we became radioactive!"
They eventually reached the Starlight Motel—a run-down, two-story concrete building situated right next to a roaring railway line. The neon sign was flickering violently, and the air smelled of stale grease and diesel fuel.
Alejandro walked into the dingy lobby, paid forty-five dollars for a single room with two twin beds, and took the rusty key from the indifferent clerk behind the bulletproof glass.
The room was small, dark, and damp. The wallpaper was peeling from the corners, and an old air conditioner in the window was rattling loudly, blowing lukewarm air into the cramped space. Carmela threw herself onto one of the thin beds, covering her face with her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
"How did this happen?" she moaned. "Yesterday we were hosting a dinner party for the mayor! Today we are living in a hovel! That horrible woman... she ruined our lives!"
"You ruined my life, Mom!" Alejandro finally exploded, slamming his briefcase against the wall. The plastic cracked, sending old corporate brochures spilling onto the floor. "You kept pushing me! 'Alejandro, buy the villa in Marbella! Alejandro, buy me the diamond earrings! Alejandro, don't let your wife talk to you that way, you're the man!' I did everything to make you proud, and now look at us! I stole from the company, I sold government-level encryption secrets to foreign syndicates, and I have nothing to show for it!"
Carmela looked up, her eyes wide with shock and fear at her son's sudden rage. She had never seen him look so vicious. "Alejandro... I did it for your status! A man needs to be respected!"
"Respected?!" Alejandro laughed hysterically, a dark, hollow sound. "I’m a criminal now, Mom! And the people I stole from are coming for me!"
He walked into the tiny bathroom, locking the door behind him. He pulled out the burner phone and typed a frantic reply to the encrypted number: “I don't have access anymore! My wife found out about the audit and locked me out of the system! The server keys are gone! I can't give you the data! I’ll return the two million as soon as I can figure out a way!”
He waited, his heart pounding against his ribs in the dark, smelly bathroom.
Two minutes later, the phone buzzed.
“The two million was spent on a casino debt in Macau, Alejandro. The account is empty. We don't want your excuses, and we don't want a refund. The delivery date was Friday at midnight. If the data isn't in our secure cloud by then, our clean-up crew will visit you at the Starlight Motel, Room 114. Yes, we know where you are. We always know.”
Alejandro felt a wave of cold vomit rise in his throat. He looked at the room number on the plastic key ring in his palm.
Room 114.
They were already watching him. The Chinese syndicate had trackers in the area. He was trapped in a box, with no money, no security, and no way out.
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He realized there was only one person in the entire world who had the power to save him from this death sentence. The woman he had spent the last five years trying to control and manipulate.
He needed to beg Victoria for his life.
