Chapter 8 - The Stolen Archive
Jude snapped the phone shut, his face turning to marble.
"Who was it?" Ellie asked, standing up instantly.
"Reggie," Jude said coldly. "He has the black box recording from Elena’s car crash."
"Why would he want Brinley?" Ellie pleaded. "She’s just a toddler!"
"Because as long as Brinley is alive, she is the sole legal heir to thirty percent of the Mercer shipping empire," Jude revealed. "My father's will had a bloodline clause. If I die without children, the entire shipping network goes to Elena’s child."
Ellie gasped. The puzzle pieces were falling into place with terrifying precision.
Reggie didn't just want money. He wanted control of the entire syndicate. And to get it, he needed Brinley—or he needed her out of the picture.
"We aren't going to Pier 4," Jude decided sharply. "We’re going to Saint Mary’s Church."
"Why?" Ellie asked.
"Because whatever Julian hid in that vault is the only thing that can destroy Reggie’s leverage," Jude replied, grabbing his leather jacket and checking his sidearm. "Marcus! Ready the second car."
An hour later, the black SUV pulled into the dark alley behind Saint Mary’s Church in downtown Providence. Rain poured in heavy sheets, blurring the streetlights into streaks of gold.
Jude, Ellie, and Brinley slipped through the church's side entrance. The hollow sanctuary smelled of old incense and damp wood.
They walked toward the small basement vault beneath the altar. Jude used a heavy iron crowbar to force open the rusted lock on Julian’s private storage drawer.
Inside sat a small black USB drive and a handwritten letter addressed to Ellie.
Ellie’s hands shook as she picked up the letter.
Ellie, if you're reading this, I’m already gone. I’m so sorry for the lies. I took Elena’s baby because I couldn't let the Mercer mob kill her. But Reggie found out. He forced me to sign over the shipping deeds. The USB contains the video of the crash. Reggie cut Elena’s brake lines.
Ellie choked back a sob. Julian hadn't been a thief—he was a terrified man trying to save a baby from a ruthless mafia hit.
Jude picked up the USB drive, his jaw clenched so hard his teeth threatened to shatter.
"Reggie murdered my sister," Jude whispered, a dark, terrifying aura filling his presence.
Suddenly, the heavy doors of the church sanctuary upstairs slammed open.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the stone steps of the basement.
"Drop the drive, boss!" a voice shouted.
It wasn't Reggie.
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It was Marcus—Jude’s trusted driver—holding a gun pointed straight at Jude’s back.
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