HER STEPMOTHER THREW A 3-YEAR-OLD GIRL OFF A PRIVATE ISLAND INTO THE OCEAN! Her father jumped into the raging waves to save her, but when they reached shore, the little girl pointed at a fleeing speedboat and whispered something that made his blood run cold. What she revealed next exposed a terrifying secret about her dead mother! / Chapter 13 / 40

Chapter 13 - The True Double-Cross

Julian’s face turned an ugly shade of purple. "Vance, what the hell are you doing?! We paid you five million dollars!"

"You paid me five million to deliver the girl," Marcus said calmly, his pistol now shifting, tracking directly between Julian’s eyes. "You didn't pay me to execute an innocent child. I’m a mercenary, Julian. Not a monster."

"Marcus," Vanessa hissed, her voice trembling with venomous rage. "Put the gun down! Aegis Red controls this building! You won't make it to the lobby!"

"Aegis Red doesn't control this building anymore," Marcus replied with a grim smirk. "Who do you think authorized the federal warrants thirty minutes ago? The Boston Field Office of the FBI is in the service stairwells right now."

My mind spun. *The letter... the evidence in the lighthouse...*

"Marcus?" I whispered, my gun still half-raised. "Claire's letter said you were the broker."

"I was the undercover asset, Daniel," Marcus said, not taking his eyes off Julian. "Claire and I set up this sting eighteen months ago. We needed to let Julian and Vanessa commit the full transaction—wire the cartel money into US jurisdiction—so the Department of Justice could seize the entire syndicate under RICO statutes. Claire knew she was in danger, but she refused to leave until we had the cryptographic paper trail."

"You let Claire die?!" I roared, the rage threatening to rip my chest open.

"We didn't know they would strike that night!" Marcus yelled back, genuine torment cracking his weathered voice. "I was in Washington briefing the Attorney General when Julian ambushed her at the lighthouse! By the time I flew back, Owen had already signed the fake autopsy under duress! If I arrested them then, Aegis Red would have vanished into the shadows, and Julian would have walked on a misdemeanor tampering charge!"

"You used my daughter as bait?!"

"I kept her alive, Daniel!" Marcus barked. "I pulled her out of the storm drain when Owen collapsed! I brought her here to force Julian to produce the signed transfer documents! Look at the desk!"

On the desk lay the original, unredacted corporate ledger, bearing Julian's personal signature, transferring ninety million dollars from Aegis Red into an offshore account in the Cayman Islands.

Beside it sat Claire’s silver star pendant.

Vanessa suddenly bolted toward the desk, her hand diving into an open drawer for a snub-nosed revolver.

*BANG.*

Marcus fired. The bullet shattered the heavy crystal lamp on the desk, showering Vanessa in glass shards. She shrieked, stumbling backward onto the Persian rug.

"Don't do it, Vanessa," Marcus warned, his gun smoking.

"You're all dead!" Julian screamed, frantically pulling a small black detonator from his suit pocket. "You think I didn't plan for this?! Keller had charges set on the harbor fuel tanks! If I press this, the entire marina—"

I didn't let him finish the sentence.