Chapter 15 - The Betrayal Repeated
The handover happened in the dimly lit underground parking garage of a luxury hotel downtown.
Daniel stood nervously next to a concrete pillar, clutching the encrypted flash drive in his sweaty palm.
A sleek black town car pulled up slowly, the tinted rear window rolling down just a few inches.
Claire peered out from the darkness of the backseat, her eyes scanning the garage for any witnesses.
"Do you have it?" she demanded, her voice sharp and impatient.
"I have it," Daniel replied, stepping forward and holding the small piece of plastic up to the window.
"Where is the rest of my money, Claire?"
Claire let out a cruel, mocking laugh that echoed loudly off the concrete walls.
"You really are a naive, pathetic little man, Daniel," she sneered, reaching her hand out the window.
"There is no more money."
"You just committed a federal crime, and if you ever contact me again, I will anonymously report you to the FBI."
Daniel froze, the blood draining completely from his face as the reality of her betrayal hit him.
"You promised me," he whispered, his voice cracking with sheer desperation and panic.
Before he could react, one of Claire's private security guards stepped out of the front seat.
The massive man grabbed Daniel by the collar, slamming him brutally against the concrete pillar.
The guard ripped the flash drive from Daniel’s frozen fingers and tossed it through the open window to Claire.
"Have a wonderful life in the gutter, Daniel," Claire smiled, rolling the tinted window back up.
The town car sped away, leaving Daniel battered, bruised, and completely broken on the dirty garage floor.
He had betrayed his wife for Claire, and it had cost him his entire life.
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Now, he had committed a federal felony for her, and she had thrown him away like absolute garbage.
Daniel curled into a miserable ball on the cold concrete, finally weeping for the man he used to be.
