Chapter 6 - The Crumbling Castle
High above the bustling city streets, in a luxurious penthouse suite, Kim Van Nguyen paced the length of his imported Persian rug.
The confident, arrogant smirk that had graced his face at the crematorium was now completely gone, replaced by a mask of frantic paranoia.
His private security chief had just informed him about the police raid on the chemical plant and the sudden disappearance of Dr. Aris.
Nguyen hurled his heavy crystal whiskey glass against the expensive mahogany wall, watching it shatter into a thousand glittering pieces.
He had planned everything with absolute, flawless precision, manipulating every single moving part of the deadly chessboard.
He had exploited Mai’s shallow greed, using her desire for luxury to turn her into a willing assassin who blindly followed his orders.
He had eliminated Nghia, the only man who posed a threat to his financial empire, and disguised it as a tragic crime of passion.
Even when Mai had survived the first execution, he had remained calm, knowing the state would step in and finish his dirty work for him.
But he had vastly underestimated the sheer, relentless stubbornness of Inspector Vance.
His internal phone rang, shattering the heavy silence of the room, and he snatched it up with a trembling, sweaty hand.
"Sir, the police have surrounded the building, they have tactical teams moving through the lobby," his chief of security reported, panic evident in his voice.
Nguyen slammed the phone down, his mind racing as he sprinted toward the hidden panic room installed behind his massive bookshelf.
He frantically began stuffing stacks of bound foreign currency, fake passports, and diamond jewelry into a black leather duffel bag.
He was Kim Van Nguyen, a master of survival, and he would not let a low-level street cop lock him in a cage.
He pushed a hidden button on his desk, triggering a massive electrical fire in his server room to destroy all remaining digital evidence.
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Smoke began to billow through the air vents, filling the luxurious penthouse with the toxic, suffocating stench of burning plastic.
Nguyen grabbed his bag, pulled a silver revolver from his desk drawer, and sprinted toward the private rooftop helipad.
