Chapter 7: The Midnight Transfer
At 2:00 AM on the eve of the federal audit, Gabriel sat in a secure server room beneath a decommissioned dry dock in the harbor. With him was Agent Miller, a senior investigator from the Department of Justice who had worked covertly with Marcus before his death.
"Everything on this drive matches the physical data Marcus cached before the crane collapsed," Miller said, watching streams of decrypted data illuminate his monitor. "Chemical manifests, offshore payment vouchers signed by Julian Vance, and encrypted audio recordings."
"What audio?" Gabriel asked, his eyes fixing on the waveform graph.
Miller clicked play. Julian Vance’s voice crackled through the speakers, speaking to a private contractor: *“Make sure the support beam gives way during Marcus’s night inspection. No witnesses. Frame it as structural fatigue from coastal corrosion.”*
Gabriel’s knuckles turned white against the steel table. Marcus hadn’t stood a chance. He had been murdered in cold blood while walking the docks he loved.
"And Elena's role?" Gabriel asked, his voice deathly quiet.
Miller pulled up another log. "She authorized the surveillance equipment purchased through shell corporations. She placed the bugs in your penthouse, your vehicle, and Marcus’s former office to track the trust fund’s legal transfers. She knew about the hit, Gabriel."
The last lingering shred of Gabriel’s hesitation vanished. There was no room for mercy.
"When do the warrants execute?" Gabriel asked.
"Ten o'clock tomorrow morning at the Vance Holdings headquarters," Miller replied. "We hit the father, the daughter, and their entire logistics board simultaneously."
Gabriel stood up and straightened his cuffs. "I’ll deliver the final key in person."
"Be careful, Thorne," Miller warned. "Julian knows the net is closing. A cornered wolf will tear down the entire forest to survive."
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Gabriel looked toward the dark harbor outside the reinforced windows. "He can try. But this forest belongs to me."
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