Chapter 8: The Memory Card
The city looked different at night when you knew someone was watching.
Every shadow felt intentional.
Every passing car felt like it was slowing down for a reason.
Every person walking behind me felt like they might be following.
I had spent years in Brooklyn believing danger announced itself.
A broken window.
A raised voice.
A stranger acting suspicious.
I was wrong.
The most dangerous things arrived quietly.
A text message.
A missing file.
A secret someone kept because they thought they were protecting you.
I sat in the passenger seat of Milo Varenne’s car, staring out the window as Manhattan disappeared behind us.
I had told myself I was not there because I trusted him.
I was there because Kit needed me.
That was the only reason.
Milo drove without speaking.
For almost twenty minutes, neither of us said a word.
The silence between us was not peaceful.
It was full of everything we had not said.
Finally, I broke it.
“Where is the memory card?””
His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“I don’t know.””
I looked at him.
“You’re lying.””
“No.””
“You knew about it before Damian even mentioned it.””
“I knew Kit had something.””
“What?””
Milo looked ahead.
“Evidence.””
“Evidence of what?””
He didn’t answer.
I laughed quietly.
“You really can’t help yourself.””
“What?””
“You still think silence is protection.””
His jaw tightened.
“Sometimes it is.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Sometimes it’s just another way to control people.””
That hit him.
I saw it.
A tiny reaction.
But I was learning him now.
The man everyone feared was easier to read than he wanted people to believe.
After a moment, he said:
“The memory card contains information about Damian.””
“That’s not enough.””
“It’s more than enough.””
“For you, maybe.””
I turned toward him.
“I need to know what my brother was dragged into.””
Milo was quiet.
Then he said:
“Kit was in the wrong place at the wrong time.””
I stared.
“That’s what everyone says when they don’t want to admit someone made a choice.””
His expression changed.
“You think I wanted this?””
“I think powerful people always believe they’re the exception.””
He looked at me.
“And you think I’m not?””
“I think you’re still trying to decide.””
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he nodded slightly.
“Maybe.””
The honesty surprised me.
We stopped outside an old apartment building.
Not Kit’s.
Somewhere else.
I looked around.
“This isn’t where he is.””
“No.””
“Then why are we here?””
Milo turned off the engine.
“Because if someone has the memory card, they need a place to open it.””
“And?””
“And there are only three people who could decrypt what’s on it.””
I stared.
“Who are they?””
Milo looked at the building.
“One of them is dead.””
“And the other two?””
“One is Damian.””
I waited.
“And?””
Milo looked at me.
“The other is me.””
The words hung there.
I opened the door.
“Get out.””
He looked confused.
“What?””
“I said get out.””
“Sabra.””
“No.””
I stepped onto the sidewalk.
“You’re telling me the only two people who can access this information are the man threatening my family and the man hiding information from me.””
Milo followed.
“I’m trying to help.””
“Then help.””
I turned toward him.
“Tell me everything.””
His face hardened.
“Not here.””
“Why?””
“Because we’re not alone.””
I froze.
“What?””
Milo looked across the street.
A black SUV was parked near the corner.
The engine was off.
The windows were tinted.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“You know them?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
We moved.
Fast.
Milo grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the side entrance of the building.
I almost fought him.
Almost.
Then I heard it.
A car door opening.
Footsteps.
Not running.
Walking.
Confident.
People who weren’t worried about being caught.
Inside the building, Milo locked the door behind us.
I stared at him.
“You always have an escape plan?””
“Yes.””
“That’s disturbing.””
“It’s necessary.””
“For your life?””
He looked at me.
“For everyone around me.””
Before I could answer, his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
“Who?””
He showed me.
Rurik.
Milo answered.
“What happened?””
A pause.
Then Rurik’s voice came through.
I couldn’t hear everything.
Only Milo’s side.
“What do you mean gone?””
Another pause.
“Did you check the hospital?””
My heart stopped.
“The hospital?””
Milo looked at me.
“Kit disappeared.””
The floor seemed to move.
“What?””
He ended the call.
I grabbed his arm.
“What happened?””
“Rurik went to your apartment.””
“Why?””
“To look for anything Kit left behind.””
“And?””
“He found signs that someone had been there.””
I felt sick.
“Kit?””
“No body.””
I closed my eyes.
A strange relief.
Tiny.
Fragile.
But there.
“He might still be alive.””
Milo nodded.
“He is.””
I looked at him.
“How do you know?””
His answer came too quickly.
“Because Damian wants him alive.””
The way he said it made me afraid.
“You sound certain.””
“I am.””
“Why?””
Milo looked away.
“Because Damian doesn’t destroy valuable things.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Things?””
Milo immediately corrected himself.
“People.””
But the damage was done.
I saw how he thought.
How he had been trained to think.
People as assets.
Problems.
Threats.
Resources.
And suddenly I understood why Kit had warned me.
*Don’t trust Milo Varenne.*
Not because he was the villain.
Maybe because he was something worse.
Someone who knew exactly how villains thought.
We reached the second floor.
Milo stopped outside an old office door.
“How did you find this place?””
“Years ago, I used it.””
“For what?””
He looked at the lock.
“Before I left Damian.””
He opened the door.
Inside was a small room.
A desk.
Old computers.
Files.
A place frozen in time.
I stepped inside.
“You kept this?””
“I forgot about it.””
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
He looked around.
“People forget places connected to things they regret.””
I noticed something on the desk.
A photograph.
I picked it up.
It showed a younger Milo.
Much younger.
Standing beside another man.
A man I recognized.
The person from the accident report.
The person connected to Kit’s crash.
I looked at Milo.
“Who is this?””
His face changed.
“That’s…”
He stopped.
I turned the photo over.
A handwritten note was on the back.
*Brothers before business. Always.*
My blood went cold.
“Brothers?””
Milo didn’t answer.
I looked at him.
“Who is he?””
The silence returned.
Then Milo said:
“My older brother.””
I stared.
“You have a brother?””
“I did.””
“What happened?””
Milo’s eyes darkened.
“Damian killed him.””
The room went silent.
I looked back at the photo.
The man beside Milo.
The man connected to my brother’s accident.
The man I had seen before.
“Wait.””
My voice shook.
“You said Damian killed your brother.””
“Yes.””
“Then why is his name on Kit’s accident report?””
Milo didn’t answer.
I stepped closer.
“Why?””
His face became unreadable.
Then his phone buzzed.
A new message.
He opened it.
His expression changed.
“What?””
He turned the screen toward me.
A photo.
Kit.
Alive.
Tied to a chair.
My heart shattered.
Under the picture was a message.
*Bring Milo Varenne.*
Another line appeared.
*And bring the woman who thinks she knows him.*
I looked at Milo.
He looked back at me.
For once, neither of us had an answer.
Then the final message arrived.
*Midnight. The old warehouse. Come alone.*
A pause.
Then:
*Or Kit learns what Milo did to his own brother.*
I stared at the words.
Milo went completely still.
Because this time…
May you like
He wasn’t hiding fear.
He was remembering it.
