Chapter 4 - The House of Glass
I didn't answer him. I grabbed my bag, already packed with a secondary hard drive and my passport. I retreated to the balcony of the master suite. The drop was fifteen feet to the garden, but the darkness was my ally.
"Julian," I shouted, my voice surprisingly steady. "The file isn't just on this server. It’s on a delay. It’s currently being uploaded to every major news outlet in the state. By the time you break down this door, your reputation will be the only thing left of the Albright name."
I heard a thud against the wood—he was throwing his weight against it. The lock groaned.
"You're bluffing," he hissed. "You don't have the stomach to destroy your own lifestyle. You love the comfort too much."
"The comfort was a cage," I replied, standing on the balcony railing. I looked out into the night, spotting Leo’s car idling near the back gate. "And you just left the door wide open."
I jumped.
The landing was hard, jarring my ankle, but adrenaline masked the pain. I scrambled into the shadows of the hedges just as the bedroom door splintered open upstairs. I could hear Julian cursing, the sound of glass breaking as he realized the room was empty.
I reached the car and threw myself into the passenger seat. Leo didn't ask questions; he slammed the car into gear and sped away from the mansion.
"Did you do it?" he asked, his hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel.
"It’s uploading," I said, watching the progress bar on my laptop. 45%... 60%... 80%.
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"They're going to come after us," Leo said.
"They can't come after what they can't find," I replied, staring at the lights of the gala fading in the distance. The sixty-eight million dollars was no longer a secret. It was a bomb, and it was about to detonate.
