Chapter 6 - THE SECOND BETRAYAL
The next morning, Lorraine disappeared.
Her phone was off.
Her security detail had been dismissed.
Her bedroom was empty.
Only one thing remained on her dressing table.
A handwritten note.
You were warned.
Andre called the police.
Before they arrived, his phone rang.
Unknown number.
A man's voice said:
“If you want your mother alive, stop digging.”
Andre froze.
Camille immediately reached for a pen.
“Put it on speaker.”
The voice continued.
“Bring the black box to the old Callaway warehouse.”
“No.”
“Then she dies.”
The call ended.
Andre looked at Camille.
“We're going.”
“No.”
“She's my mother.”
“And whoever took her wants you emotional.”
“So what do you suggest?”
Camille stared at the black box.
“We don't bring it.”
Andre understood.
“We bring a copy.”
“Exactly.”
They arrived at the warehouse at sunset.
The place had been abandoned for years.
Inside, a single light hung from the ceiling.
Lorraine sat in a chair.
Her wrists were tied.
Andre stepped forward.
“Mother.”
She lifted her head.
“Don't come closer.”
A gunman appeared behind her.
“Where's the box?”
Andre raised it.
“Let her go.”
The gunman laughed.
“You still think you control this.”
Camille stepped forward.
The man pointed the weapon at her.
“Back up.”
Camille stopped.
Then she smiled.
“You're not going to shoot me.”
The man frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if I die, the evidence automatically goes to the federal authorities.”
His face changed.
Andre looked at her.
She continued.
“And if Andre dies, the same thing happens.”
The gunman lowered his weapon slightly.
“You're bluffing.”
“No.”
Camille looked at Lorraine.
“Your problem isn't us.”
Lorraine stared at her.
“It's the people who hired you.”
The gunman suddenly fired.
The bullet struck the wall.
Everyone screamed.
Andre tackled the man.
The weapon slid across the floor.
Camille grabbed Lorraine and pulled her behind a crate.
Then sirens erupted outside.
The gunman froze.
Camille looked at Andre.
“I told you.”
He stared.
“You called the police?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Camille's phone vibrated.
One message.
You're welcome. — M
She stared at the screen.
She knew that initial.
Martin Hale.
May you like
But Martin had been standing beside her less than ten minutes earlier.
And now he was gone.
