Chapter 8 - THE HIDDEN LEDGER
The alarm wailed continuously.
Ru locked the heavy oak door of her guest room.
She grabbed a heavy brass candlestick from the mantelpiece, gripping it with white knuckles.
Footsteps pounded against the hallway floor outside.
Not Harland’s steady stride.
Heavy boots.
Running toward her door.
Ru pressed her back against the wall beside the entrance.
The doorknob rattled violently.
Someone was trying to pick the lock.
With a sharp mechanical click, the lock gave way.
The door swung inward.
Marcus stepped into the room, holding an assault rifle with a suppressed barrel.
His eyes scanned the dark interior.
He didn't see Ru standing in the shadow of the doorframe.
He raised his rifle toward the empty bed.
Ru didn't hesitate.
She swung the heavy brass candlestick with every ounce of strength in her body.
Clang!
The metal struck Marcus squarely across the back of his neck.
He stumbled forward, dropping his rifle onto the carpet.
He spun around, grabbing Ru by the wrist before she could swing a second time.
“You little bitch,” Marcus hissed, his face twisted in rage.
He shoved her backward against the wall.
The breath left Ru’s lungs in a violent gasp.
“You poisoned Elena,” Ru choked out, struggling against his iron grip.
“And you saw too much,” Marcus snarled, pulling a tactical knife from his belt.
Suddenly, a gunshot echoed through the hallway.
Marcus froze.
Harland stood in the doorway.
His pistol was raised, the barrel smoking slightly.
A red stain spread across Marcus’s shoulder.
“Drop the knife, Marcus,” Harland’s voice was lower than a whisper.
It was the voice of death itself.
Marcus slowly opened his hand.
The knife clattered onto the wooden floorboards.
“You trusted the wrong man, Boss,” Marcus gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his fingers.
“Vance offered me the whole shipping port.”
Harland fired a second shot into Marcus’s knee.
The traitor collapsed onto the rug with a muffled scream.
Harland stepped over him, looking directly at Ru.
“Are you hurt?” Harland asked, his chest heaving.
“I’m fine,” Ru panted, sliding down the wall to catch her breath.
“He... he was working with Victor Vance.”
Harland’s eyes darkened into black glass.
“Victor Vance.”
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“My greatest rival on the north side.”
“And the man who wants my entire empire.”
