Chapter 7: The Ghost of Ohio**
Leo felt the blood freeze in his veins. The air in the warehouse suddenly felt thinner, colder.
"My father died in an accidental blizzard crash," Leo said through clenched teeth, his muscles tensing for an inevitable fight. "The police report confirmed brake failure due to black ice."
"Police reports say whatever the highest bidder wants them to say," the man chuckled, slowly descending the iron spiral staircase.
As he stepped under the amber glare of the sodium light, Leo recognized the scarred face. It was Silas Kane—the former chief of security whom Leo’s father had fired just weeks before his fatal crash.
"Your old man was weak, Leo," Kane said, casually twirling a military-grade combat knife. "He discovered that our high-tech logistics contracts were being used to move unauthorized military prototypes overseas. He wanted to go to the FBI. He wanted to be a martyr for honesty."
"So you killed him," Leo whispered, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned ghost-white.
"Mauricio and I had a very lucrative pipeline going," Kane continued, pacing around Leo like a wolf. "Mauricio laundered the kickbacks through your luxury estates, and I managed the quiet shipments. Until you decided to play hero in a fluorescent vest."
"Mauricio didn't mention you," Leo observed, his breathing slowing down, entering a state of calculated calm.
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"Mauricio didn't know I was still in town," Kane smirked. "He was a spoiled brat who panicked at the first sign of pressure. But you... you're your father's son. Too stubborn to stay in your glass tower. Which makes burying you in this harbor surprisingly easy."
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