I take a few steps back. “It means the less you know, the better. You’ve been doing a good job holding out so far, but I can’t take the risk that he’ll beat it out of you.”
Oliver nods tersely. “Fair enough.”
“This is going to hurt.”
“What do you—” I punch Oliver in the gut, causing him to double over in pain. Then I shove the gag back into his mouth.Mathew’s footsteps echo as he climbs down the stairs and comes to stand next to me.
“Enjoying yourself?”
I shrug. “I have better things to do. So do you. We need to speed this up before our father gets suspicious.”
On his way out, Mathew stops to kick Oliver again.
Carlisle finds us then. Mathew is almost giddy when he follows us to the hallway outside my office. I watch him until he rounds the corner and disappears.
Once he’s out of earshot, I look back at Carlisle and tilt my head in the other direction.
In silence, he follows me down the hallway to the library.
After a quick turn, I meet him in front of the secret tunnel and pull the lever. The portrait shifts sideways, and Carlisle waits for me to duck in. There’s a small patch of orange light dancing on the floor. My hand moves to the gun at my side, and I hold my breath until Katia emerges from the shadows.
She holds up a lantern, and her free hand is closed around a knife.
“Were you followed?”
Katia lowers the lamp and looks over at Carlisle. “Of course not. I hope you handled it with more than your usual finesse.”
Carlisle grunts and continues to scan the tunnel.
I step closer to Katia and drop my voice. “Did you get it?”
Katia reaches into her pocket and pulls out a flash drive. “Nadia and I were persuasive.”
Carlisle swings his gaze back to us. “When did we bring her into the loop? We barely know her. Don’t you find the timing suspicious?”
“I don’t.” I silence Carlisle with a withering look. “Nadia is loyal, at least for the time being. We have something she wants.”
Saving her friend hadn’t been easy, but with Katia’s help, we were able to rescue her.
Fortunately for Nadia, I’m a little more reasonable than the previous captors.
If she does what I want, when I want it, no harm will come to her or her friend.
I take the flash drive from Katia’s hand and tuck it into my sock. “Make sure everything else is in position.”
Katia and Carlisle exchange a quick look and nod.
Without waiting for a response, I spin on my heels and feel my way back out the tunnel. Carlisle emerges a moment later and pushes the portrait back into place. He falls into step beside me as we leave the library and make a beeline for my father’s office.
I knock on his door, and it opens, revealing my father with a drink in one hand and a gun in the other. His eyes are tight and bloodshot as he waves me in. Carlisle shifts to step in after me, but my father points the gun at him, and he stiffens. I offer my right-hand man a nod and push the door shut behind him.
“More news of your failure?” Jack sits down behind his desk. “Mason Payne, the disappointment. I should’ve never chosen you as my successor.”
I reach into my sock and toss the flash drive onto the desk. “I’m not the problem.”
Jack’s gaze flicks to the flash drive. “What is this?”
“Mathew has been working with our enemies. You’ll find all the proof you need on that.” I nod toward the drive. “It’s been going on for almost a year. He’s trying to overthrow me.”
