Chapter 8 - A Traitor at the Table
Gideon tackled Norah behind the couch.
Glass rained across the floor.
Rafael fired toward the opposite rooftop.
Natalie crawled behind the kitchen wall.
"Sniper!"
Another bullet tore through the apartment.
Then silence.
Rafael radioed the team below.
Norah looked at Gideon.
Blood stained his sleeve.
"You're hit."
"Glass."
She grabbed his arm.
"Sit still."
"I'm fine."
"You were dying four days ago."
"I've improved."
"You're impossible."
Natalie stared at them.
Then laughed.
Norah looked at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Tell me."
"You two."
"There is no 'you two.'"
Gideon looked away.
Natalie's eyebrow rose.
Norah ignored her.
They escaped through the rear stairwell.
In the armored SUV, Natalie finally told them the truth.
Gabriel Wolf had supposedly died at age eight.
A boating accident.
No body recovered.
Their father declared him dead.
But Samuel Vale discovered years later that Gabriel had survived.
Victor Soren had taken him.
Raised him.
Used him.
"Why?" Gideon asked.
"Because your father chose you."
Gideon looked toward the window.
"Chosen for what?"
"Everything."
The organization.
The estate.
The money.
The Wolf name.
Gabriel had grown up believing Gideon stole the life that should have been his.
"He's poisoning me for revenge."
Natalie shook her head.
"Not just revenge."
"What then?"
"He wants you to name him your successor."
Gideon laughed.
"He'll wait forever."
"He knows."
Natalie's expression became grim.
"That's why he has another plan."
Back at the estate, Gideon called a dinner.
Everyone senior in his organization attended.
Norah thought it was madness.
Gideon called it bait.
He entered the dining room walking under his own power.
The reaction was immediate.
Men who believed he was dying stared.
Gideon sat at the head of the table.
Norah stood behind him.
Every plate had been inspected.
Every drink sealed.
Gideon addressed the room.
"Somebody tried to kill me."
Nobody moved.
"They failed."
Silence.
"And someone at this table helped them."
Eyes shifted.
Hands tightened.
Gideon placed the counterfeit ledger on the table.
"Tonight, that person gets one chance."
Nobody confessed.
Then Norah noticed a man at the far end.
His eyes weren't on Gideon.
They were on her.
Anthony Wolf.
Gideon's uncle.
Alive.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakable from the photographs.
Gideon saw him.
The entire room froze.
"Uncle."
Anthony smiled.
"Hello, Gideon."
Rafael drew his weapon.
Anthony raised empty hands.
"I came to help."
"You've been missing ten years."
"I've been hiding ten years."
"From whom?"
Anthony looked at Natalie.
"Gabriel."
Gideon's face tightened.
Anthony continued.
"Your brother isn't trying to inherit your empire."
"Then what?"
"He wants to destroy it."
"Why?"
"Because he knows what your father did."
Gideon stood.
"What did he do?"
Anthony looked around the table.
Then spoke.
"Your father ordered the boat accident."
Gideon's face changed.
"He tried to kill Gabriel?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Anthony hesitated.
"Because Gabriel saw him murder your mother."
The room went silent.
Norah felt Gideon's hand grip the table.
Everything he'd believed was collapsing at once.
His father.
His mother.
His brother.
Anthony stepped closer.
"Gideon, Gabriel doesn't want your chair."
"What does he want?"
"You."
A waiter approached carrying a sealed bottle.
Norah glanced at him.
Something was wrong.
His shoes.
Security staff wore black soles.
His were brown.
"Stop."
The waiter looked at her.
His hand went beneath the tray.
Norah screamed.
"Gun!"
The dining room erupted.
Gideon pulled Norah down.
Rafael fired.
The waiter fell.
But before he hit the floor, he smiled.
Then every light in the estate went dark.
A voice came through the dining room speakers.
"Hello, brother."
Gideon slowly raised his head.
Gabriel continued.
"You survived the poison."
May you like
A pause.
"Let's see if you survive the truth."
