Chapter 12 - velvet seams
We sat in the quiet library after Lily fell asleep in the guest bedroom upstairs. The storm outside lashed violent sheets of rain against the high arched windows, making the glass groan against the wind.
Using a small silver seam ripper from Nora's sewing kit, I carefully opened the stitching along the bear's spine. Among the white cotton stuffing lay a small, black encryption drive wrapped in oilskin paper, alongside a folded scrap of waterproof parchment.
I unfolded the paper first under the desk lamp. Written in Ethan's unmistakable, hasty cursive hand was a short message:
Julian, if you are reading this, I failed to reach the harbor. They found my secondary shelter in Portland. The micro-drive contains the master ledger for Vanguard Logistics. Do not trust Uncle Richard. He was the one who ordered the hull sabotage on my boat. Protect Nora and Lily. They are my entire life.
My breath caught in my throat as the dark truth settled into my chest. Uncle Richard—our father's younger brother and the current managing director of the family firm—had spent three years comforting me at empty memorial services while secretly hunting down my brother.
"Ethan came to my apartment two nights ago," Nora whispered, holding a mug of tea with both shaking hands. "He was injured, Julian. He had a deep gunshot wound on his left shoulder. He knew Richard's men were tracking his phone, so he left the bear in Lily's backpack while I was loading the car."
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"Where was he heading?" I demanded, my knuckles white as I gripped the micro-drive.
"To the old boathouse at Blackwood Lake," Nora said. "He told me he had thirty-six hours before the offshore account keys expired."
