Chapter 7 - THE UNEXPECTED VISITOR
Three weeks after the arraignment, life had begun to settle into a new, peaceful normal.
My mother was safely settled into a beautiful, sun-drenched estate overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, surrounded by private care, fresh flowers, and absolute security. The color had returned to her cheeks, and her laughter—a sound I hadn't heard in years—echoed through the hallways as she baked cookies with her new private chef.
I was sitting on the back patio reviewing the final asset forfeiture documents when my secure government cell phone buzzed on the glass table.
It was an unknown encrypted number routed through a federal server.
I swiped to answer. "Vance here."
"Elena," a familiar, breathless voice whispered from the other end.
My blood ran cold. It was a voice I hadn't heard in five years—a voice buried deep in the past, tied to a chapter of my life I thought was firmly closed.
"Marcus?" I said, standing up abruptly from the patio chair. "How did you get this number? You’re supposed to be in federal witness protection in Europe."
"I had to call you, Elena," Marcus gasped, his breathing ragged and frantic, as if he were running for his life in the dark. "Julian and Chloe... they weren't working alone. They were just the local branch. The syndicate they were funneling your mother’s money to—it goes all the way up to federal intelligence and high-level judicial officials. They know you dismantled their local cell. They’re coming for you, Elena. And they’re using your mother’s new estate to draw you out."
Before I could answer, a piercing, deafening security alarm suddenly shrieked across the entire Chesapeake estate.
May you like
Red emergency strobe lights began flashing violently along the roofline.
From inside the house, my mother let out a terrified, blood-curdling scream.
