Chapter 9 - The Hidden Ledger
I anticipated Gideon’s move. While Adrian held the ballroom’s attention, I slipped out through the service corridors, taking the freight stairs up to the executive floor. I reached Gideon’s office just as he was violently ripping paintings off the wall to expose his private wall safe, spinning the dial with frantic, trembling fingers.
"Looking for your retirement fund, Gideon?" I asked, stepping out from the shadows of the executive washroom, holding my phone with the audio recorder running.
Gideon whipped around, his hand instinctively flying toward his jacket holster where he carried a compact firearm. "You should have stayed in that burning restaurant, Ellie," Gideon snarled, drawing the weapon and pointing it directly at my chest. "You don't know what kind of men you're messing with. Voss is a criminal syndicate disguised as a hospitality group, and I was just trying to clean house!"
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"No, Gideon," a calm, deep voice echoed from the doorway behind him. "You were just cleaning out my accounts."
Adrian stepped into the office, moving with silent, predatory grace. Before Gideon could pivot his weapon toward Adrian, Adrian closed the distance with terrifying speed, striking Gideon’s wrist with a sharp karate chop that sent the pistol clattering across the marble floor.
