Chapter 3 - The Stuffed Rabbit's Secret
Back at the Vale estate, the grand living room was warm, filled with the crackle of a grand fireplace. Norah sat wrapped in a thick wool blanket on a plush leather sofa, eating a bowl of warm chicken soup prepared by Gideon’s long-time housekeeper, Martha.
Gideon sat in an armchair across from her, watching her quietly. He had removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, exposing old scars on his forearms—reminders of wars fought and won in Chicago's dark underbelly.
"Norah," Gideon said gently, keeping his voice soft. "Your mama is safe. My doctors are taking care of her downstairs right now."
Norah’s eyes lit up, a tear spilling down her cheek. "She's awake?"
"Not yet," Gideon admitted honestly. "She needs sleep to heal from her fall. But no one can hurt her here. I give you my word."
Norah looked down at the stuffed rabbit in her lap. "Barnaby saved us," she whispered. "Mama told me never to let anyone take Barnaby. She said Barnaby was full of magic secrets."
Gideon glanced at Marcus, who stood near the doorway. "May I see Barnaby for a moment, Norah?"
The little girl hesitated, then handed the frayed grey rabbit across the table. Gideon took the toy carefully, treating it as if it were made of fragile glass. His large, calloused fingers felt along the seams of the rabbit's belly. Near the base of the left ear, he noticed a tiny line of uneven black thread—a patch stitched hastily by hand.
Gideon pulled a small pocket knife from his pocket and delicately sliced the single thread.
He reached inside the cotton stuffing and pulled out a micro-SD card encased in a protective waterproof plastic sleeve.
Marcus stepped forward, bringing a secure, air-gapped laptop to the table. Gideon inserted the memory card into the reader.
The screen lit up with hundreds of encrypted files, bank transaction logs, video recordings, and audio transcripts. As Gideon scrolled through the data, his eyes hardened into cold fury.
"It's not just Kozlov," Marcus murmured, scanning the document titles over Gideon’s shoulder. "This is the complete financial ledger for Senator Thomas Vance. Offshore accounts in the Caymans, real estate laundering, human trafficking bribes... and direct payments to Kozlov’s syndicate to eliminate political rivals."
"Clara Miller was Senator Vance’s private lead accountant," Gideon realized, piecing together the nightmare. "She discovered that Vance was using a child welfare charity to launder dirty money. When she tried to copy the files and flee, Kozlov caught her at the station and pushed her down the stairs."
"And Norah saw the whole thing," Marcus added. "She knows Kozlov’s face."
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Gideon looked over at the sofa. Norah had fallen asleep, her small head resting against a pillow, clutching the rabbit once more.
"Kozlov and Vance think they can murder a mother and hunt a child in my city," Gideon whispered, his voice vibrating with dangerous intent. "They don't know who they're dealing with."
