Chapter 3 - THE PENTHOUSE TRAP
The elevator doors opened onto the penthouse floor.
Three armed men stood outside.
Aurora immediately realized something was wrong.
None wore hotel security uniforms.
And none looked surprised to see Dante holding a gun.
“Mr. Moretti,” the tallest man said pleasantly. “Please come with us.”
Dante moved Aurora behind him.
“Who sent you?”
The man smiled.
“You already know.”
Before anyone could move, a deafening alarm erupted through the hallway.
Red emergency lights flashed.
A steel security gate slammed down between the elevator and the armed men.
Dante grabbed Aurora's hand.
“Run!”
They sprinted through a private service corridor.
Behind them, men shouted.
Dante opened a hidden door with his palm against a biometric scanner.
Inside was a windowless security room.
He locked it.
Aurora stumbled against a desk.
“What is happening?”
Dante immediately contacted Marco.
“Someone compromised the penthouse. Lock down the building.”
“Already working on it, boss.”
“Find the people responsible.”
Then Dante turned toward Aurora.
“I need you to trust me for the next five minutes.”
She stared at him.
“I barely know you.”
“I know.”
“And you have a gun.”
“Yes.”
“And people are trying to kill us.”
His expression softened.
“Which is why I'm going to get you somewhere safe.”
Aurora swallowed.
“Why would anyone want me dead?”
Dante opened his laptop.
He searched a secure database for Richard Whitlock.
A photograph appeared.
Beside Richard stood another man.
Aurora leaned closer.
She recognized him immediately.
“That man used to visit my mother.”
Dante stared at the photograph.
“You knew him?”
“He came to our house when I was little. Mom always made him leave through the back door.”
Dante's voice dropped.
“Aurora, that man is my uncle, Victor Moretti.”
She looked confused.
But Dante had already noticed something else.
The photograph was dated seventeen years earlier.
And beneath it was a confidential company document.
BENEFICIARY: AURORA ELENA REYES.
May you like
Dante slowly looked up.
“Your mother never told you what she inherited, did she?”
