CHAPTER 7: THE BLUE SERPENT
Leaving the house under the pretense of an executive board meeting, Mark drove straight to Nathan's lab to analyze the cigarette butts retrieved from the alley.
"I ran the brand and the residual chemical profile on the paper," Nathan said, bringing up a database on his computer monitor. "These cigarettes are specialty imports from Eastern Europe, distributed exclusively to a handful of high-end specialty tobacconists in the tri-state area. But more importantly, I checked that symbol your street kid described."
Nathan clicked a button, bringing up an image on the screen. A stylized blue snake coiling around a digitalis flower.
"Aethelgard Bio-Botanicals," Nathan explained. "It was an experimental natural-compound research firm shut down four years ago for unethical clinical trials. The lead research director was stripped of his license: Dr. Marcus Vance."
Mark froze. The room seemed to spin. "Marcus? My cousin?"
"Marcus lost everything when the board dissolved his company," Nathan said grimly. "And guess who represented him during his bankruptcy proceedings and kept him out of federal prison?"
"Clara," Mark spat, the venom thick in his throat.
The conspiracy ran deeper than simple greed; it was a pact of vengeance and mutual profit. Clara wanted the trust money, and Marcus wanted the capital to resurrect his illegal research facilities abroad. And they were using Lily’s innocent eyes as their disposable bargaining chip.
Mark checked his watch. It was 2:00 PM on Tuesday. The drop was scheduled for midnight.
May you like
"Nathan," Mark said, his voice deadly calm. "Get the local district attorney’s specialized task force on the line. But tell them they move only when I give the signal. If we spook Marcus before the handoff, we lose the chain of custody forever."
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