Chapter 7 - The Interrogation Room
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Ten minutes later, Celeste was no longer in the carpeted hallway of the grand mansion.
She was bound tightly to a cold metal chair in the subterranean cellar beneath the property—a room built with thick concrete walls designed to absorb sound.
Marco stood near the door, his jaw set, holding a heavy iron bar. Wesley sat across from her on a wooden stool, flicking open a gold lighter and letting the flame dance in the darkness.
“I won't ask twice, Celeste,” Wesley said softly. “Who else in my organization is working with the Valentis?”
Celeste sneered, tilting her head back defiance. “Do you really think I’m going to tell you? My father is a Valenti captain. If I talk, they’ll put me in the river.”
“If you don't talk,” Wesley replied, snapping the lighter shut, “the river will seem like a sanctuary compared to what happens in this basement.”
He looked at Marco. “Call our men at the docks. Lock down every warehouse. No ships leave the harbor until every man is checked against the ledger.”
“Yes, Boss,” Marco said, turning to leave.
“Wait,” Celeste spat out, panic finally creeping back into her tone as she realized Wesley wasn't bluffing. “Wait! It was Briggs! Briggs was the contact!”
Wesley’s eyes narrowed. “Briggs? The man I kicked out of the warehouse earlier today?”
“He was working for them for months!” Celeste confessed rapidly, her body shaking against the constraints. “He was feeding them your shipping schedules! That’s why he was extorting the old dockworker—he needed cash to pay off his Valenti handler!”
Wesley slowly stood up. The betrayal cut deeper than he cared to admit, but his mind was already moving toward execution.
“Marco,” Wesley said smoothly. “Find Briggs. Bring him to the docks.”
He turned back toward the stairs, leaving Celeste in the dark.
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“What about her, Boss?” Marco asked.
Wesley didn't look back. “Keep her alive until sunrise. Then give her to the police along with the thumb drive. Let the Valentis know their little spy failed.”
