Chapter 4 - The Shadow of Mercer
The room spun. I had to reach out and grip the edge of the dresser to keep from falling.
"Taken?" I gasped. "Taken by who?!"
"Mercer's people," Eric said, standing up with Leo still cradled against his shoulder. "Julian’s former boss—a man named Victor Mercer. Three armed men raided the compound at sunset. Maya managed to hide Leo in a hidden crawlspace under the floorboards before they breached the door. My security team arrived twenty minutes later, extracted Leo, and brought him straight to me."
"Where is Maya?!" I screamed, stepping forward, grabbing Eric’s shirt collar. "Where is my sister, Eric?!"
"I don't know!" Eric yelled back, his eyes wild with stress. "My team is currently sweeping the border! Victor Mercer knows Julian didn't drown. He knows Julian kept a physical flash drive containing the master ledger of the entire laundering network!"
"A flash drive?" I let go of his shirt, taking a slow step back. "You risked my sister’s life for a flash drive?!"
"No! Julian kept it as leverage!" Eric argued, his tone desperate. "He told Mercer that if anything happened to Maya or Leo, the drive would be automatically sent to the Department of Justice! But Mercer got greedy. He decided to eliminate them and find the drive himself."
Suddenly, the house security panel near the bedroom door beeped loudly.
A sharp red light flashed across the digital screen, accompanied by a low, rhythmic chime.
PERIMETER BREACH: NORTH GATE.
Eric’s face went deadly pale. He instantly transferred Leo to my arms, pushing me back toward the walk-in closet.
"Take him," Eric barked, his entire demeanor shifting from defensive husband to tactical survivalist. "Go into the safe room behind the mirror. Lock it from the inside. Do not open it for anyone except me."
"Eric—" I held Leo tightly against my chest, the baby’s soft weight sending a jolt of protective instinct straight to my core.
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"Elena, move!" Eric pulled a sleek, matte-black handgun from the top drawer of his nightstand, racking the slide with a loud, metallic CRACK. "They tracked the extraction team from Baja. They're here."
Before I could reach the closet door, the glass windows of our master bedroom shattered inward in a blinding explosion of shards and black smoke!
