Chapter 3: The Impossible Choice
""The Volkovs,"" Arthur murmured, the name sending a chill down his spine. They were a ruthless criminal enterprise, deeply embedded in the city's underbelly. ""But why Elena? We were going to be married. She had everything. Why would she align with them?""
Leo pulled a heavily encrypted laptop from a duffel bag under the floorboards. ""Because she didn't have a choice,"" Leo said quietly, his fingers flying across the keyboard. ""When I recognized the hitmen, I pinged my contacts. I used to run data for some bad people before I went clean.""
He turned the screen toward Arthur. On it was a surveillance photo of a young girl, no older than sixteen, blindfolded and tied to a chair.
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""This is Maya. Elena's younger sister,"" Leo explained, his tone grave. ""She was taken from her university dorm three days ago. The Volkovs demanded a ransom Elena couldn't pay, so they offered her a trade. Your life for her sister's.""
Arthur stared at the screen, the crushing weight of betrayal instantly evaporating, replaced by a profound, agonizing sorrow. Elena hadn't wanted his money. She hadn't wanted him dead. She had been sitting across from him at that candlelit table, carrying the weight of her sister’s life in her hands, entirely alone.
