Chapter 8 - The Trap Springs
Barrett’s face turned from victorious red to a sickly, pale white. "She's lying! She's an imposter using a dead girl's name to save her skin!"
"Am I lying, Barrett?" Willa challenged, stepping closer to the raised table of the Commission.
She reached into her small evening clutch and pulled out a sleek silver flash drive, placing it directly on Don Carmine’s desk.
"On that drive are the original audio files and bank ledgers recovered from my father's safe," Willa declared, her voice ringing with absolute authority. "It details how Barrett used Vance shipping lines to smuggle illegal arms without Commission authorization, and how he ordered the arson attack on my home six years ago when my father refused to be blackmailed!"
Don Carmine immediately plugged the drive into a laptop on his desk. Within seconds, the dark, raspy recording of Barrett’s voice from six years ago echoed out through the ballroom speakers, filling the silent hall with damning proof of his treason.
Caller 1 (Barrett): "Arthur won't sign the transfer... Clear the house. Make it look like a gas leak..."
The ballroom exploded into chaos.
Commission members jumped to their feet, glaring at Barrett with naked fury. In the syndicate world, killing an allied family leader without Commission approval was an unpardonable crime punishable by death.
"Traitor!" Don Carmine roared, slamming his heavy fist onto the table. "Barrett, you have broken the sacred code of the families!"
Realizing he was completely trapped, Barrett’s eyes went wild with murderous desperation. "Guard!" he screamed.
Two of Barrett's personal bodyguards pulled silenced handguns from their jackets, aiming directly at Willa and Don Carmine.
Before they could pull their triggers, Kendrick moved with terrifying speed. He drew a sleek black pistol from inside his coat, firing two precise shots that dropped Barrett's guards instantly to the marble floor.
Panic erupted as guests scrambled for the exits. Barrett grabbed a gun from his fallen bodyguard's belt, aiming it straight at Willa's chest.
"If I'm going down, Vance's daughter dies with me!" Barrett shrieked.
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Willa didn't even have time to blink.
Kendrick threw himself in front of her, his large frame completely shielding her body as a sharp crack echoed through the room.
