Chapter 6 - Someone Was Watching the BabyIsabella couldn't move.
Her phone slipped from her hand.
Eleanor picked it up.
She looked at the photograph.
Her face collapsed.
“They photographed your medical file.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“When was that ultrasound?”
“This morning.”
“Where?”
“Saint Mary's.”
Marcus immediately called the police.
But Isabella wasn't listening.
She could only stare at the image.
Someone had taken her unborn child's scan.
Someone inside the hospital.
Someone had access to her medical information.
And someone had been watching her.
She suddenly remembered something.
The nurse had left the room for several minutes.
Another doctor had entered.
A man she had never seen before.
He had asked strangely specific questions.
How far along was she?
Had she experienced dizziness?
Did she know the baby's gender?
At the time, she thought nothing of it.
Now every question felt like a blade.
Marcus said,
“We're moving you somewhere secure.”
“Where?”
“Not a hospital.”
“I need to know if my baby is safe.”
“I know.”
They drove to an old estate owned by Isabella's father.
The property had been abandoned for years.
No public records connected it to her.
Eleanor opened the gate using an old key.
Inside the house, dust covered the furniture.
But beneath a painting in the library, Marcus discovered a hidden compartment.
Inside was a metal box.
Eleanor smiled sadly.
“Your mother was waiting for you to find that.”
The box contained journals.
Dozens.
One belonged to Isabella's mother.
She opened it.
The first pages were ordinary.
Family.
Travel.
Business.
Then everything changed.
One entry read:
Nathan knows nothing yet.
Another:
If my husband is killed, Nathan must never learn about the second account.
Isabella froze.
“Second account?”
She turned the page.
Blank.
The next page had been ripped out.
She kept reading.
Eclipse believes the money is the secret. It isn't.
Another page.
The ledger is the weapon.
Then:
The names are more valuable than the money.
Isabella looked at Marcus.
“A ledger.”
He nodded.
“Maybe the evidence Voss wants.”
She continued reading.
Then her mother's handwriting changed.
The final entry was barely readable.
I don't know whether I can trust Nathan anymore.
Isabella stopped.
“Why?”
The rest of the page had been covered in ink.
She opened the next journal.
This one belonged to her father.
A single entry appeared.
Nathan agreed to protect Isabella if I gave him access to the Blackwood network.
Isabella's heart hammered.
Her father had recruited Nathan.
But then another line appeared.
If Nathan ever learns what the ledger contains, he will become the greatest danger to her.
She closed the book.
“No.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
“He wasn't just protecting me.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was investigating my father.”
Another page.
Nathan believes the Blackwoods are corrupt. He has begun searching for the ledger himself.
Then:
I fear he wants it.
Isabella remembered Nathan's face.
Cold.
Silent.
Terrified.
Maybe Voss wasn't lying.
Maybe Nathan had his own agenda.
Suddenly Eleanor entered.
“We need to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because the cameras are on.”
Marcus looked around.
“There are no cameras.”
Eleanor pointed toward the ceiling.
“There.”
A tiny red light blinked.
Marcus immediately drew his weapon.
He searched the room.
Then they heard a sound.
A phone ringing.
Not Isabella's.
Not Marcus's.
Eleanor's.
She answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then a man's voice said:
“You should have burned the journals.”
Eleanor went pale.
Voss.
“How did you get this number?”
“Your number has never been difficult to find.”
He paused.
“Isabella.”
She took the phone.
“What do you want?”
“I want the ledger.”
“I don't have it.”
“You will.”
“Why?”
“Because your father left instructions for you.”
Isabella's chest tightened.
“Instructions for what?”
“To choose.”
“Choose what?”
Voss's voice became soft.
“Who dies.”
The line went dead.
Marcus immediately ordered everyone out.
They ran toward the garage.
The moment Isabella reached the car, an explosion tore through the rear wing of the house.
Glass shattered.
Eleanor fell.
Isabella screamed.
Marcus dragged them behind the vehicle.
Smoke filled the air.
Then a second explosion.
The journals disappeared in the fire.
Isabella stared at the burning house.
Her mother's last words were gone.
But she had memorized one sentence.
The ledger is the weapon.
Then she remembered another phrase from the flash drive.
One folder had been labeled:
ACCOUNT 7
She pulled out her phone.
The file was still there.
She opened it.
An encrypted bank statement appeared.
One transaction.
$12,000,000.
Sender:
NATHAN BLACKWOOD
Recipient:
ISABELLA HART
Date:
Two days before their first meeting.
Isabella's blood ran cold.
Nathan had transferred twelve million dollars to her before they ever met.
Why?
Then another transaction appeared.
Same amount.
Same sender.
But a different recipient.
May you like
JULIAN VOSS.
And the date was tomorrow.
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