Chapter 5 - Shadow at Blackwood Point
The storm peaked as the truck stopped near the cliffs.
Rain lashed the windshield.
The ocean roared below.
In the distance, the abandoned lighthouse.
A dark titan against the lightning.
Marcus racked his sidearm.
Handed me a flashlight and a crowbar.
"We don't know if Victor's men swept this place. Keep your head down."
We crept through the brush.
Reached the rusted iron door at the base.
The lock had been cut recently.
Fresh marks.
"They've been here," Marcus hissed.
We climbed the spiral stairs.
Every creak sounded like a gunshot.
At the top, the lantern room.
Tossed.
Glass cases smashed.
Floorboards pulled up.
My flashlight caught a wooden music box on the pedestal.
The one I gave Sarah on our wedding day.
I picked it up.
The lock was intact.
A notch in the bottom.
I pressed it.
The false bottom popped open.
A black USB drive.
Wrapped in a note.
"You came. I knew you would. If you hold this, you hold Victor's heart. But he holds mine. The docks, Pier 42. Midnight."
"It's a trap, Rich," Marcus said. "He knew you'd come for the ledger. He's using Sarah as bait."
May you like
"It's not a trap." I clutched the drive. "It's a trade. And I'm making it."
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