Chapter 11 - The Subterranean Court|
An hour later, in the cold, windowless basement beneath the Aurelia Grand, Richard Whitmore sat tied to a heavy iron chair.
Sweat poured down his pale face, his expensive suit ruined, his hands trembling violently against the ropes.
The heavy steel door swung open.
Niko walked into the room, wearing a clean black shirt, his left side bandaged tightly beneath his dark coat. Beside him walked Ava, holding a thick leather folder.
Richard gasped, scrambling backward against the chair legs. “Moretti! Please! I didn't know he was going to shoot at you! I just told him to get the flash drive back from the girl!”
Niko stopped three feet away, looking down at the terrified man as if he were a bug under a glass.
“You sent an armed killer into my private home, Richard,” Niko said quietly, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. “In my world, that is an act of war.”
“I’ll pay you!” Richard stammered, weeping openly now. “I’ll sign over the Whitmore mansion! I’ll sign over my remaining shares to Ava! Just let me walk out of here alive!”
Ava stepped forward, looking down at her father. For twenty years, she had feared this man’s loud voice, his harsh commands, and his cold dismissals.
Now, sitting tied to a chair in a dark basement, he looked small, weak, and pathetic.
“I don't want your money, Richard,” Ava said softly, her voice cold and steady. “And I don't want your mansion. You’re going to sign the surrender documents because it’s the law.”
She opened the folder, setting a legal document on the small table beside him.
“You and Victoria will sign a full confession regarding Eleanor’s murder investigation,” Ava instructed. “And you will plead guilty to corporate fraud.”
Richard stared at the paper, his mouth trembling. “If I sign that... I’ll go to prison for twenty years.”
Niko leaned down, placing his hand flat on the table, his face inches from Richard’s ear.
May you like
“If you sign it, you go to prison,” Niko whispered softly. “If you don't sign it... you stay in this basement forever.”
Richard reached for the pen with trembling, numb fingers.
