Chapter 4 - Mason Returned to the Old Warehouse Where He Had Buried His Past—and Found Evidence That Claire Had Been Investigating the Same Man Hunting His FamilyThe old warehouse smelled the same.
Oil.
Salt.
Rust.
Rain.
Mason stood in the doorway.
Seventeen years disappeared.
Jace followed him.
Victor stayed behind.
Sophie waited in the car.
“You shouldn't be here,” Jace said.
“I know.”
“Then why come?”
“Because Claire came here.”
Jace looked around.
Mason found the room.
A desk.
Old files.
A broken lamp.
And a hidden drawer.
Inside was Claire's notebook.
Mason opened it.
Her handwriting filled every page.
She had been tracking Julian.
She had discovered hidden accounts.
Shipping routes.
Politicians.
Judges.
Lawyers.
Then one sentence:
Mason doesn't know he was never the target.
He stared.
What did it mean?
He read further.
The real target is Sophie.
Mason's hands shook.
Why?
The answer came in the next pages.
Claire had discovered Sophie wasn't an ordinary child.
She was the legal beneficiary of a trust.
Not Mason's.
Her grandfather's.
A trust worth hundreds of millions.
Money Julian wanted.
But there was another secret.
The trust did not activate until Sophie turned eighteen.
She was seventeen.
Which meant Julian had a deadline.
One year.
Mason whispered:
“He wants her alive until she turns eighteen.”
Jace frowned.
“Why?”
“Because then she gains control.”
“What happens if she dies before?”
“It passes to Julian's company.”
Jace stared.
“He planned everything.”
“Yes.”
They hurried back to the car.
Sophie was gone.
Her seatbelt was still fastened.
Her phone lay on the floor.
Mason froze.
The old fear returned.
He turned toward Jace.
“Get the car.”
Jace ran.
They found tire tracks behind the warehouse.
A second vehicle.
Mason followed.
They ended up at a private dock.
Nobody was there.
Except a red scarf.
Claire's.
Mason recognized it immediately.
He picked it up.
A voice spoke behind him.
“You still carry her.”
Julian Black.
Alive.
Older.
Perfectly dressed.
Mason turned.
Julian smiled.
“Hello, Ghost.”
Mason said nothing.
“It's been a long time.”
“Where is my daughter?”
“Safe.”
“If you hurt her—”
“You'll what?”
Julian laughed.
“You retired.”
Mason stepped closer.
“I didn't forget.”
Julian smiled.
“I know.”
He looked toward the river.
“Claire was brilliant.”
“You killed her.”
“Yes.”
Mason's jaw tightened.
“She found the trust.”
“She did.”
“And Sophie.”
“She is the key.”
Mason stared.
“Why her?”
“Because your father hid the money inside her name.”
Mason understood.
His father had been more powerful than he knew.
The trust was designed to protect the family.
Claire had discovered it.
Julian had killed her.
Mason had unknowingly been protecting the exact person Julian needed.
Sophie.
Julian's smile faded.
“You can't save her this time.”
He disappeared.
Mason stood there.
Jace approached.
“What now?”
Mason looked at him.
“Now we find my daughter.”
They tracked Julian's network.
A warehouse.
A private airfield.
A country club.
Three fake companies.
Then finally a mansion.
Sophie was inside.
She had escaped the room where they locked her.
She had left clues.
Smart.
Careful.
Exactly like her mother.
Mason smiled despite everything.
“She wants us to find her.”
Jace looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because she left the door unlocked.”
They entered.
Sophie emerged from the hallway.
She ran toward Mason.
He caught her.
“I told you to stay in the car.”
“I know.”
“You scared me.”
“I know.”
He hugged her tightly.
For a long moment, he was not the Ghost.
He was simply her father.
Then Sophie whispered:
“I found something.”
“What?”
She handed him a key.
“A room downstairs.”
They found it.
Inside was a computer.
A file.
And a photograph.
Julian with someone else.
Mason recognized the man.
Blackwell.
The sponsor behind Jace.
But someone stood beside him.
Mason's old mentor.
The man he had trusted.
The man everyone believed dead.
Harold Vane.
Mason stared.
“He's alive.”
Jace looked at him.
“Who is he?”
“The man who taught me everything.”
Sophie frowned.
“And he's helping Julian.”
Mason nodded.
The truth was worse.
Harold had trained Mason.
Harold had trained Victor.
Harold had built the old criminal network.
And now he wanted to control Sophie through the trust.
Mason closed his eyes.
“He started this.”
Jace asked:
“Can we stop him?”
Mason looked at his daughter.
“Yes.”
“But we need help.”
Jace smiled.
“Then maybe the undefeated fighter knows a few people.”
Mason almost laughed.
May you like
“Don't get cocky.”
“Too late.”
Related Stories
