Chapter 3: Locker 117

While Victor began his speech, Elena slipped through a velvet curtain near the rear of the ballroom.

Margaret remained behind to distract Crane.

Elena entered a service corridor, removed her heels, and ran.

Victor’s voice echoed through speakers above her.

“Apex Global has always believed that power carries responsibility.”

Elena nearly choked at the hypocrisy.

She reached the service elevator and pressed the button for the basement.

The doors closed just as Crane entered the hallway.

He saw her.

“Elena!”

She hit the button again.

The doors met in the middle.

The elevator descended.

Sublevel three was colder than the ballroom.

Concrete walls replaced marble. Exposed pipes ran along the ceiling. The air smelled of dust and machinery.

Elena found locker 117 at the end of a storage room.

The key fit.

Inside was an old leather briefcase.

She opened it on the floor.

The first thing she saw was a photograph.

Her mother stood beside Margaret twenty-five years earlier. Both women were smiling.

Between them was Victor.

On the back, someone had written:

Elizabeth, Margaret, and Victor. Before greed destroyed us.

Beneath the photograph was a stack of legal documents.

Elena scanned the first page.

Elizabeth Apex owned thirty percent of the original company.

Her shares had never legally transferred to Victor.

After her death, they should have passed to Elena.

Her knees weakened.

Victor had not merely stolen from employees.

He had stolen her inheritance.

At the bottom of the case sat a small digital recorder.

Elena pressed play.

Her mother’s voice filled the empty room.

“If you’re listening to this, something has happened to me.”

Elena covered her mouth.

She had not heard her mother’s voice since she was six years old.

“Victor has been moving company money through offshore accounts. Thomas found the records. We planned to go to the authorities, but Victor knows. He threatened Elena.”

A door slammed somewhere behind her.

Elena turned.

Footsteps entered the storage room.

She grabbed the briefcase and stood.

Julian stepped from the shadows.

He held a pistol at his side.

“You should have accepted the money,” he said.

Elena’s heart pounded.

“Did you kill my father?”

Julian tilted his head.

“No. I only told Crane where your father would be driving.”

The words hit harder than a confession shouted in court.

“You knew the brakes had been cut.”

“I knew there would be an accident.”

Elena slowly reached into her pocket.

Julian raised the weapon.

“Don’t.”

“I’m giving you the flash drive.”

“Use two fingers.”

She pulled it out carefully and held it up.

Julian smiled.

“That little piece of plastic caused a lot of trouble.”

“It contains copies.”

His smile disappeared.

“Where?”

“Everywhere.”

He took one step toward her.

“You’re bluffing.”

“Maybe.”

Above them, Victor continued speaking about integrity.

Julian extended his hand.

“Give it to me.”

Elena tossed the drive across the room.

It struck the floor and slid beneath a metal shelf.

Julian looked toward it.

That moment was enough.

Elena swung the briefcase into his arm.

The gun fired.

The shot exploded through the basement.

Julian stumbled.

Elena ran.

She reached the corridor, but Crane appeared near the elevator.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall.

The briefcase fell.

Documents scattered across the floor.

Crane looked down at them.

His expression changed.

“I told Victor this locker should have been cleared years ago.”

Elena struggled against him.

“You killed my father.”

Crane leaned closer.

“I’ve killed men for much less.”

Then the elevator doors opened behind him.

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