Chapter 6 - THE DEAD MAN’S DEPOSIT
By sunrise, the Pine Ridge police station was swarming with state troopers and federal agents.
The fire at the timber mill had consumed the entire structure. Emergency crews had recovered two bodies from the ash: one of the security guards, and Walter Lawson. Walter had given his life to buy us those precious minutes to escape.
Christian and Martha, however, had vanished into the night before the authorities arrived. They were officially fugitives, wanted for attempted murder, kidnapping, and corporate arson. Marcus had managed to escape the burning mill through the river hatch, arriving at the police station at 5:00 AM, bleeding from a shoulder graze but alive.
Sitting in a secure office at the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters in the city, I placed the key on the metal table between Marcus and Agent Sarah Vance—who, to my absolute surprise, was Marcus's sister and a lead investigator for the financial crimes division.
"This is it," Marcus said quietly, his shoulder heavily bandaged under his jacket. "Safe 408."
Two armed federal agents accompanied us down into the vault of the Union Bank of Pine Ridge. The vault master turned his key, I turned mine, and together we pulled out a heavy metal box.
When I opened the lid, my breath caught.
Inside was not just a ledger.
There were dozens of micro-drives, sworn affidavits signed by international bankers, and a handwritten journal written in Brandon's distinct, neat handwriting.
I picked up the journal, my fingers trembling over my late husband’s handwriting. On the very first page, dated a week before his death, Brandon had written:
“If you are reading this, Jennifer, it means I failed to protect you myself. I am so sorry for dragging you into this darkness. But the truth must come out. Lawson Enterprises is not a company. It is a front for an international human trafficking and money laundering syndicate led by my family and their high-ranking political allies.”
My blood ran cold. The breath left my lungs completely.
"It wasn't just corporate tax fraud," I whispered, looking up at Agent Vance with horror. "It was... human trafficking?"
Agent Vance took the journal, her expression grim. "We’ve suspected the Lawson network was connected to the syndicate for five years, Jennifer. But every informant we ever had ended up dead. Brandon was the only one who got deep enough into their encrypted accounts to trace the political figures funding it."
She flipped through the pages, her eyes widening as she read names of senators, judges, and high-ranking law enforcement officers.
"This isn't just about controlling Brandon's shares," Marcus realized, his voice filled with dread. "Christian and Martha didn't just want Toby's inheritance to keep the company. They needed Toby because Brandon locked the master private server using Toby's biometric DNA sequence!"
Suddenly, the red emergency lights inside the bank vault began to flash, and a deafening alarm shattered the silence.
The heavy steel vault door began to slowly swing shut.
"What's happening?!" I screamed, clutching Toby to my side.
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From the speaker system inside the vault, a familiar, chilling voice echoed over the alarm:
"Did you really think the FBI was safe, Jennifer?" Christian’s voice mocked over the intercom. "Half the agents in this state are on my payroll. Thank you for opening the box for us."
