Chapter 9 - The Extraction
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The word hung in the air, heavy and impossible. Niece.
Elena stared at the towering, terrifying man in front of her. The man she was supposed to be serving champagne to. "I... I have to go," she stammered, taking a step back. "I have to get back to my brother."
"You aren't going back to that apartment," Adrian stated firmly, though his voice was gentler than before. "Not tonight. It isn't safe."
He turned to his head of security, a massive man named Marco who had been standing silently by the doors.
"Marco. Take three men. Go to Elena's apartment. Bring her brother, and bring the lockbox. Do not draw attention, but do not let anyone stop you."
"Yes, Boss," Marco nodded, immediately gesturing to his men.
"Wait!" Elena protested, panic rising in her chest. "Leo is only nineteen. If guys with guns show up at the door, he’ll panic. Let me go with them."
Adrian looked at her, seeing the fierce protectiveness in her eyes. He recognized it. It was the same look his sister used to get.
"Fine," Adrian agreed. "You go with Marco. Bring Leo back here. You will both stay in the secure guest wing tonight."
Adrian then turned his lethal attention back to Cassandra, who was still sobbing against the marble pillar.
"As for you," Adrian said coldly. "You are going to sit in my study until your father arrives to explain exactly how much he stole from my family to keep this secret."
Twenty minutes later, Elena found herself sitting in the back of an armored black SUV, flanked by heavily armed men in dark suits. She was still wearing her torn gray maid uniform.
The ride to the South Side was tense and silent. When they pulled up to her run-down apartment building, Marco turned to her.
"We go up together, Ms. Morris," Marco said respectfully. The shift in his tone was jarring. An hour ago, she was the help. Now, she was treated like royalty.
They climbed the three flights of stairs. Elena unlocked the deadbolt with a shaking hand.
The apartment was small, cramped, and smelled faintly of cheap soup. Leo was sitting on the worn-out sofa, playing a video game. He looked up, his eyes widening in alarm at the sight of the massive men in suits standing behind his sister.
"El? What's going on?" Leo asked, standing up quickly. "Are you in trouble?"
"Pack a bag, Leo," Elena said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Just clothes for a few days. We have to leave."
"Leave? Why?"
"I'll explain in the car," she promised.
While Leo frantically stuffed clothes into a backpack, Elena went into her small, drafty bedroom. She moved a pile of old sweaters in the back of her closet, revealing a heavy, rusted metal lockbox. It was the only thing her mother had left behind that wasn't sold to pay for funeral expenses.
Marco stepped into the room and easily lifted the heavy box for her.
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"Let's go," Marco said, checking his watch. "The Boss is waiting."
As they hurried back down the stairs, Elena held the broken silver locket tightly in her hand, wondering what other explosive secrets were locked inside that rusted metal box.
