Chapter 3 - The Broken LedgerThe heavy side door of the warehouse creaked open, admitting a gust of freezing air and two men in dark raincoats.
"Check the back office," a rough voice ordered. "Boss wants all the original blue prints and the hard drives from her desktop. If Vance wakes up in the hospital, she shouldn't have a single document left to defend herself."
Derrick waited in total silence. His pulse was steady now—the cold, lethal focus of his former life taking over completely.
The first man stepped into the office, flicking on a tactical flashlight. The beam swept across Maya’s empty desk, landing on the unrolled blueprints.
"Hey, Frank! The plans are still here!" the man called out.
"Grab them and burn the desk," Frank replied from the corridor.
Before the first man could reach for the blueprints, Derrick stepped out from the darkness behind him. In one swift, silent motion, Derrick clamped his hand over the man’s mouth, wrapping his arm around his neck and driving him hard against the filing cabinet. The man gasped, struggling, but Derrick applied precise pressure to his carotid artery. Within six seconds, the man went limp and slid silently to the floor.
Derrick scooped up the flashlight before it hit the floor, turning off the beam.
"Tony? What's taking so long?" Frank’s heavy footsteps approached the office door.
Frank stepped through the doorway, raising a silenced pistol. But Derrick was already moving. He ducked under Frank's aim, grabbing his wrist and twisting it violently upward. A muffled pop echoed through the room as a round shattered a glass framed photo on the wall.
Derrick drove his elbow into Frank’s ribs, followed by a devastating knee to his sternum. Frank hit the concrete floor, coughing blood, dropping the pistol.
Derrick placed his heavy boot firmly on Frank’s chest, pointing the silenced pistol straight down between the man's eyes.
"Who ordered the sweep?" Derrick demanded, his voice chillingly calm.
Frank spat blood onto the floor, glaring up at Derrick’s tattooed hand. "You're... you're Derrick Sterling... Julian’s brother..."
"Answer the question, Frank." Derrick clicked the safety off.
"It was Marcus!" Frank choked out, terrified. "Marcus Vance! Maya’s uncle! He’s working with Julian! He signed off on the revised blueprints!"
Derrick froze.
May you like
Marcus Vance was Maya’s last living relative—the senior partner who managed the financial ledger of Vance Architectural.
The conspiracy was much deeper than Derrick had feared. Julian hadn't just targeted Maya from the outside; he had bought her own family from within.
Related Stories
