Chapter 4 - The Betrayal Inside Mercer Corporation
Marcus Vale had been with Gabriel since the beginning.
Before Mercer Corporation became a billion-dollar company.
Before the tower.
Before the private jets and international accounts.
Marcus had been there when Gabriel was only a young man trying to build something powerful enough to protect his family.
He had handled numbers.
Gabriel handled people.
They had trusted each other.
At least, Gabriel thought they had.
Now Marcus was stealing from him.
Worse, he was using Khloe as the entry point.
Gabriel called him into the office.
Marcus arrived twenty minutes later wearing a charcoal suit and a neutral expression.
“Gabriel.”
“Close the door.”
Marcus did.
Gabriel sat behind his desk.
“Did you access the restricted archives last month?”
Marcus smiled.
“That is a strange question.”
“I didn't ask whether it was strange.”
Marcus's smile faded.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Gabriel pushed a document across the desk.
Security logs.
Access records.
Encrypted file transfers.
Marcus stared.
“You've been stealing from me.”
“No.”
“You've been selling information.”
Marcus remained silent.
Gabriel leaned forward.
“How much?”
“Not enough to matter.”
That answer almost made Gabriel laugh.
“You think money is the problem?”
Marcus looked up.
“What else would it be?”
“You involved Khloe.”
“I never touched her.”
“But you used her.”
Marcus's expression changed slightly.
“She was useful.”
The room went silent.
Gabriel slowly stood.
“You made her part of this.”
“She was already part of your company.”
“She was never part of my world.”
Marcus shrugged.
“Everything inside these walls is part of your world.”
Gabriel stared at him.
He realized then that Marcus had always misunderstood him.
Marcus believed power existed only to be used.
Gabriel had built power because he hated being powerless.
Those were not the same thing.
Marcus turned toward the door.
“Twenty million.”
Gabriel said nothing.
“That's all I want.”
“And after you get it?”
Marcus smiled.
“I disappear.”
“You won't.”
Marcus stopped.
Gabriel’s voice became quiet.
“You know too much.”
“You think that scares me?”
“No.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“It should.”
Marcus left.
The next problem was Khloe.
Gabriel told Jackson to increase security.
Khloe noticed.
She confronted him that evening.
“Something is happening.”
“Yes.”
“Does it involve David?”
“Partly.”
“Am I in danger?”
“Yes.”
Gabriel did not lie.
Her expression tightened.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Gabriel hesitated.
“I run a business that is more complicated than you know.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
“You are being used as leverage against me.”
Khloe stared.
“Because of your company?”
“Because of me.”
She absorbed that.
Then asked the question he feared.
“What are you?”
Gabriel looked toward the window.
“The man people call when they need problems solved.”
She frowned.
“That sounds vague.”
“It is.”
“Are you involved in organized crime?”
He said nothing.
She already knew.
Her face fell.
“You lied to me.”
“I protected you.”
“Those aren't always the same thing.”
Gabriel accepted that.
“You’re right.”
Khloe stepped back.
“I need space.”
Gabriel nodded.
“You'll have it.”
She turned to leave.
Then stopped.
“Were the things I saw at your apartment real?”
“What things?”
“The way people listened to you.”
“Yes.”
“The way they were afraid of you.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“And are you dangerous?”
Gabriel answered without hesitation.
“Yes.”
Khloe nodded slowly.
At least he had told her the truth.
That honesty mattered more than she expected.
The next morning, Marcus made his move.
A false regulatory complaint hit Mercer Corporation.
Then another.
Within hours, reporters were calling.
Share prices dropped.
Investors demanded answers.
Gabriel knew exactly what Marcus was doing.
He wanted chaos.
Chaos created opportunities.
While everyone watched the company, Marcus moved money.
But Gabriel had anticipated betrayal long before Marcus knew he had.
He had hidden a second set of books.
Only one person knew where they were.
Khloe.
Because months earlier, Gabriel had quietly asked her to organize an emergency archive without explaining why.
Now she possessed the key.
Marcus discovered that.
And that made Khloe more valuable than ever.
That night, Khloe’s phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
You have something I need.
She ignored it.
Another message came.
If you want Gabriel to survive, bring me the blue ledger.
Khloe stared at the screen.
She didn't know what the blue ledger was.
But someone did.
She walked into Gabriel’s office.
“Someone is threatening me.”
He stood immediately.
“Show me.”
She handed over the phone.
Gabriel read the message.
His expression changed.
Then he asked the question she knew was coming.
“Did they mention a ledger?”
“Yes.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
Marcus knew.
The blue ledger contained the records of every hidden operation Gabriel had ever been involved in.
If it was released, innocent employees could be harmed, legitimate businesses could collapse, and Gabriel himself could go to prison.
Khloe looked at him.
“What happens if I give it to them?”
“They kill you.”
She swallowed.
“And if I don't?”
“They might still try.”
“Then what do we do?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“We stop running.”
He reached for the old emergency file.
Khloe watched him.
“What are you planning?”
Gabriel opened the drawer.
“A trap.”
But before they could finish preparing it, every light in the building went out.
May you like
The emergency alarms began screaming.
And somewhere in the darkness, a gunshot echoed through the tower.
