Chapter 2 - THE GIRL THEY WANTEDRhea didn't sleep.
Neither did Ezra.
At five in the morning, Blackwell House looked like a fortress preparing for war.
Security teams swept every room.
Cameras were replaced.
Locks were changed.
Vehicles were moved.
Every employee connected to the estate was questioned.
Rhea sat in Ezra's private medical room, staring through the glass wall.
She had seen powerful men before.
She had never seen one become quiet in quite this way.
Ezra stood in the center of the room.
"Again."
The head of security swallowed.
"We traced the call through three relay networks."
"And?"
"We found the location."
Ezra waited.
"An abandoned warehouse in Richmond."
"How many men?"
"At least twelve."
Ezra nodded.
"We go there."
The security chief hesitated.
"Sir, that's exactly what they want."
"I know."
"Then it's a trap."
"I know."
Rhea stood.
"Why are you going?"
Ezra looked at her.
"Because my brother is there."
"They want me."
"Yes."
"And you're planning to bring me with you."
"I am."
Rhea stared at him.
"You just confirmed that a criminal organization wants me. You can't honestly expect me to walk into their trap."
"No."
He stepped closer.
"I expect you to stay behind."
Rhea laughed bitterly.
"Then why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because there is something you haven't told me."
Her smile vanished.
"What?"
"Why did Gregor call you the girl?"
"I don't know."
"He knew your name before tonight."
"I never met him."
"Then he learned it from somewhere."
Rhea crossed her arms.
"Maybe Gus told him."
"He wouldn't."
"How do you know?"
"Because Gus spent six months hiding from people connected to my company."
Rhea frowned.
"You said my brother asked you for protection."
"He did."
"Why?"
Ezra hesitated.
Then he pulled a file from a drawer.
"Because Gus discovered something."
He handed it to her.
Inside were photographs.
Shipping containers.
Bank transfers.
Names.
Government contracts.
Rhea looked up.
"What is this?"
"Blackwell Holdings' missing money."
"How much?"
"Three hundred million dollars."
Rhea's stomach tightened.
"And Gregor?"
"At the center of it."
She looked through another page.
Then she stopped.
One name had been highlighted.
Rhea Connolly.
Her own name.
She stared.
"What is this?"
Ezra's expression darkened.
"We don't know."
"You had my name in your files."
"Not until yesterday."
Rhea stepped backward.
"So someone was monitoring me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
She threw the file onto the table.
"This is insane."
Ezra didn't argue.
Instead, he said quietly:
"Your brother didn't owe me $183,000."
Rhea froze.
"What?"
"He owed someone else."
Her heart stopped.
"Then why did you tell me he owed you?"
"Because if I told you the truth, you would never have come here."
Rhea's eyes burned.
"You lied to me."
"Yes."
"You used the debt to get me into this house."
"Yes."
She slapped him.
The sound echoed.
Ezra did not react.
Rhea's voice shook.
"You don't get to manipulate my life because you think you know what's best."
"I know."
"You lied about my brother."
"I know."
"You dragged me into this."
"I know."
She stared at him.
"Why?"
Ezra finally looked away.
"Because someone has been trying to reach you for six months."
Rhea stopped breathing.
"What?"
"Your brother discovered it first."
She shook her head.
"That's impossible."
Ezra walked to the desk.
"There were three attempted break-ins at your apartment."
"I thought those were random."
"They weren't."
"My car was tampered with."
"Yes."
"My phone was hacked."
"Yes."
Rhea's face went pale.
"You knew."
"I knew someone was watching you."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't know why."
She whispered:
"And now you do?"
Ezra looked directly at her.
"I think you're the key to whatever Gregor is trying to uncover."
Before she could answer, the security alarm exploded.
A guard rushed in.
"Sir!"
Ezra turned.
"What happened?"
"We found a body in the east garden."
Rhea felt sick.
"Who?"
"The guard who disappeared last night."
Ezra's face hardened.
"Take me there."
They ran outside.
Rain poured over the garden.
A security officer lay beneath the trees.
Dead.
Rhea covered her mouth.
Ezra crouched beside the body.
There was no gunshot wound.
No blood.
Only a small puncture mark beneath the man's ear.
Rhea stared.
"That's an injection."
Ezra looked at her.
"Poison?"
"Maybe."
She leaned closer.
"No."
"What?"
"Sedative first."
She pointed.
"See the swelling? He was injected with something that paralyzed him."
Ezra studied the body.
Then he noticed something in the man's hand.
A folded paper.
He opened it.
Three words were written inside.
SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING.
Rhea's skin prickled.
"I don't know anything."
Ezra looked at her.
Before either could speak, a guard shouted from the driveway.
"Car approaching!"
A black sedan stopped at the gate.
A man stepped out.
He raised both hands.
"I have a message for Ezra Blackwell."
Ezra walked forward.
"What message?"
The man smiled.
"Your brother is moving."
Ezra went still.
"Where?"
The stranger looked toward Rhea.
"To a place your father built."
Ezra's expression changed instantly.
"My father is dead."
The stranger smiled wider.
"So was Gus."
Rhea's blood ran cold.
"Was?"
The man's smile disappeared.
"Not anymore."
Then his chest exploded.
A sniper round tore through him.
He dropped dead.
Ezra dragged Rhea behind the armored vehicle.
Another bullet struck the gate.
Then another.
Ezra looked at his security team.
"Get inside."
Rhea trembled.
"Where are they shooting from?"
Ezra looked toward the hills beyond the estate.
"Somewhere they can see us."
He turned to her.
"Pack your things."
"Why?"
"You're leaving."
"Where?"
May you like
He held her gaze.
"Somewhere even I don't know."
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