Chapter 9 - The Ghost from the Past"Open the door fully, Evelyn," Marcus urged, stepping closer to the frame, his eyes darting anxiously toward the dark street behind him. "If I'm standing on your porch, it means the perimeter has already been compromised."
I unlatched the chain and swung the door open, pulling him inside into the warm hallway before slamming it shut and throwing every deadbolt.
"You're supposed to be dead, Marcus," I said, leveling my sidearm at his chest without hesitation. "Your file was classified level-five deceased after the Medellín extraction. Explain why you're standing in my hallway right now before I put a round through your shoulder."
Marcus raised his hands slowly, a grim, tired smile touching the corners of his mouth. "Smart. Exactly why you were the best asset on the board. Put the gun down, Evelyn. I didn't come here to hurt you or Lily. I came to save you."
"Save me from what?" I demanded, keeping the weapon steady. "I left the field. I won. Grant is in a federal penitentiary, Vanessa is facing indictment, and my life is safe."
"Grant was never just a civilian architect," Marcus said, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "And your marriage wasn't an accident. Do you really think a high-flying corporate executive with zero intelligence background just happened to stumble into your life right after the Bogotá operation?"
The words hit me like a physical blow. The room seemed to tilt on its axis.
"What are you talking about?" I whispered.
"Grant wasn't seduced by Vanessa," Marcus said, stepping closer. "Vanessa was a handler. She was planted in your house by the very syndicate we thought we dismantled in South America. They didn't want your money, Evelyn. They wanted access to the secure federal decryption keys you downloaded during your final field mission—keys that are currently stored in the biometric safe upstairs."
My breath caught in my throat. I remembered the heavy steel safe in the master suite, the biometric pad, and the secret folder I had found inside.
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"The safe," I breathed. "I cleaned it out. I gave everything to the D.A."
Marcus shook his head slowly, his eyes dark with dread. "You found the decoy files, Evelyn. The real drive—the one containing the master access codes to every deep-cover asset in the Western Hemisphere—was built into the structural foundation of the safe itself. And tonight... someone is coming to rip it out of your walls."
