Chapter 24: The Choice of Blood
Chapter 24: The Choice of Blood
The elevator doors were fully open now, revealing the bustling, well-lit corridor of the fourth floor. Senator Reyes’s office was visible at the end of the hall, surrounded by reporters and television cameras waiting for the press conference.
"Elena, come on," Maya Lin said, stepping out of the elevator, her notebook in hand. "The Senator is waiting. We have ten minutes before the live broadcast begins."
Elena stood frozen inside the elevator cab, her eyes glued to the flashing screen of the burner phone. The live video of Sarah’s pale, masked face was still running, the rhythmic beep of a hospital monitor audible through the tiny speaker.
"Elena?" Maya turned back, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "What’s wrong?"
Elena slowly stepped out of the elevator, her hand trembling as she held the phone out to Maya. "Look."
Maya took the phone, her eyes scanning the video and the accompanying text message. Her professional, calculating expression shattered into pure shock. "Oh my God... she’s alive? Arthur’s personal team must have intercepted the emergency services at the base of the mountain. They took her body before the police arrived."
"He’s going to kill her, Maya," Elena said, her voice rising in panic, her arms tightening around Leo, who shifted uncomfortably in his carrier. "If I give this drive to the Senator, Sarah dies. I can't do it. I already lost her once, I can't let him murder her again."
"Elena, listen to me," Maya grabbed her by the shoulders, her voice a fierce, desperate whisper as staffers walked past them in the hall. "This is exactly what Arthur wants. He uses people’s humanity against them because he doesn't have any. If you walk away now, if you give him the drive, he will kill all of you anyway. He will take Leo, he will kill Sarah, and you will disappear into a ditch. The drive is the only shield you have!"
"But it’s not a shield for Sarah!" Elena retorted, tears spilling over her eyelids. "She’s a prisoner! She’s at his mercy!"
"Then we find out where she is," a calm, authoritative voice spoke from behind them.
Elena and Maya spun around. Standing there was Senator Thomas Reyes himself. He was a man in his late fifties with sharp, silver hair and a commanding presence that radiated political power. He had stepped away from his press circle, his eyes locked onto the two women.
"Ms. Hayes," the Senator said, stepping closer, his voice low. "Maya told me about your situation. I saw the text message. Arthur Vance thinks he can intimidate the United States Senate. He is mistaken."
"Senator, he has my sister," Elena pleaded, her voice cracking. "He will disconnect her life support."
"Not if we trace that satellite signal," Senator Reyes said, turning to his chief of staff, who was standing in the shadows of the elevator bank. "Get the NSA cyber-security liaison on the line. I want a geographical trace on the IP address of that video stream. Now."
The chief of staff nodded, pulling out a secure device and walking away rapidly.
"Can you trace it in ten minutes?" Maya asked, skeptical.
"The government has assets Arthur Vance can't even dream of buying, Ms. Lin," Senator Reyes said, looking at Elena with a mixture of political ambition and genuine resolve. "Ms. Hayes, I need you to walk into that press room. I need you to stand behind that podium. You don't have to hand over the drive immediately. We will stall. We will tell the world the story of what happened in that mansion and on that mountain. Every eye in America will be on Arthur Vance. The moment he becomes that infamous, he cannot kill your sister without triggering a national manhunt that no amount of money can protect him from."
Elena looked at the Senator, then at Maya, and finally down at the phone. The video stream was still running. Sarah’s chest rose and fell weakly beneath the transparent plastic mask.
"Elena, we have to fight," Maya whispered. "It’s the only way."
Elena swallowed the lump of terror in her throat. She wiped the tears from her face, adjusted Leo’s blanket, and nodded. "Okay. Let's do it."
Five minutes later, Elena stood in the wings of a massive, crowded press briefing room. The glare of television lights was blinding, and the collective chatter of fifty reporters filled the air with a suffocating energy.
Senator Reyes stepped up to the podium, the microphones capturing his deep, booming voice. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press. Today, we are here to expose a criminal conspiracy that reaches into the very fabric of our financial and legal systems. For years, the Vance Global Trust has operated above the law. But today, the silence ends."
The Senator turned, gesturing toward the wings. "I introduce to you Elena Hayes, the woman who survived the Vance syndicate, and who carries the evidence that will bring it down."
The flashbulbs erupted in a dizzying storm of white light as Elena slowly walked toward the podium, holding little Leo.
May you like
But as she reached the center of the stage, the burner phone in her pocket vibrated violently three times. A new text message appeared on the screen, visible to her eyes alone as she placed it on the wooden lectern:
STALLING WAS A MISTAKE, ELENA. LOOK AT THE CAMERA OPERATOR IN THE SECOND ROW. THE MAN WITH THE SCAR ON HIS JAW. CHOOSE NOW, OR THE SHOW BEGINS WITH A LIVE ASSASSINATION.
