Chapter 7 - The Enemy Wearing a Badge
We discovered the leak three days later.
An agent was feeding information back to the Circle.
His name was Howard Blake.
He had been assigned to oversee the case.
He knew every move.
Every witness.
Every location.
He knew where my mother was.
He knew about the trust.
He knew about the ledger.
That meant the danger came from inside the system.
Howard kidnapped Isabella.
Then he called Vaughn.
"Come alone."
Vaughn refused.
Howard laughed.
"Then your mother-in-law dies."
I froze.
"My mother?"
Vaughn's eyes went dark.
We followed Howard to an abandoned ferry terminal.
The exchange was tense.
Howard demanded the ledger.
I gave him a false copy.
He opened it.
"You're clever."
"Learned from him."
I pointed toward Vaughn.
Howard smiled.
"Your father would be proud."
"Don't mention my father."
Howard laughed.
"Your father was a fool."
Vaughn's restraint snapped.
He crossed the room.
Howard pulled his gun.
Ronin shot first.
Howard fell.
Isabella was safe.
But before Howard died, he said one final sentence.
"The Circle's real leader isn't in America."
Vaughn frowned.
"Where?"
"Europe."
The investigation expanded.
The old network had branches everywhere.
But the leadership structure had one weakness.
The original founder had left a signed confession.
The final piece was hidden in the family cemetery.
We returned to the Mercer estate.
Under Victor Mercer's grave was a metal box.
Inside:
The confession.
The original trust.
And a photograph.
A young Victor.
My father.
Vaughn's mother.
My mother.
And someone else.
A little girl.
Me.
Except the photograph was taken before I was born.
I stared.
"How?"
My mother finally admitted the truth.
The photograph had been staged from an ultrasound image.
My parents had been preparing for my birth.
And Victor had selected me as the successor before I was born.
He knew exactly who I was.
Why?
Because my existence was the one thing the Circle could never control.
I would be outside their influence.
Unless they found me.
They did.
But my mother escaped.
My father protected me.
Vaughn's father protected them.
Then everyone died.
Except the people who were still hiding.
The confession revealed the final truth.
Victor Mercer had created the Harbor Circle.
But he had done it to infiltrate another organization.
The true criminal empire was larger.
It was called Black Tide.
The Circle was only one branch.
Black Tide had survived.
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And its leader had one target.
Me.
