Chapter 9 - The Audio File
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Richard sat in the driver's seat of his unmarked sedan, the engine idling in the rain. The streets around him were gray and empty, reflecting the cold, hollow feeling expanding inside his chest.
He plugged the small USB drive Maria had given him into the car's encrypted dashboard console.
He stared at the play button for a long time, bracing himself. He knew it was going to be bad, but nothing could have prepared him for the reality of hearing it.
He pressed play.
There was a brief rustle of fabric, the sound of a phone being hidden behind a stack of plates. Then, the heavy, rhythmic clicking of Eleanor’s expensive heels on the marble floor.
"Stop crying." Eleanor’s voice echoed through the car speakers. It wasn't the sweet, melodic tone she used at charity galas. It was venomous, sharp, and dripping with absolute disgust.
A small, hiccuping sob answered her. It was Sophie.
"I said stop crying," Eleanor snapped. "Your father isn't here to save you. He's at work. Do you know why he's at work? Because he's exhausted by you. You are a burden, Sophie. A whiny, useless little burden."
"I'm hungry," Sophie's tiny, trembling voice pleaded.
"Bad girls don't get to eat," Eleanor replied coldly. "You'll eat when I decide you've earned it. And if you tell him I didn't feed you, I will make sure he sends you away to a home for broken children. He wants to send you away, you know. He talks to me about it every night."
Richard squeezed his eyes shut. His hands gripped the leather steering wheel so hard the thick material actually began to crack under the pressure. The knuckles on his hands turned completely white, the tendons standing out in sharp, aggressive relief.
The audio file hissed with static, followed by the sound of a cabinet slamming shut and the click of Eleanor's heels walking away, leaving the child weeping softly in the silence.
The recording ended.
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Richard didn't move for ten minutes. The sophisticated, civilized billionaire CEO died in the driver's seat of that sedan. The man who opened his eyes and put the car into gear was the ruthless, terrifying mafia king of Chicago reborn.
He was going to burn her alive.
