Chapter 3 - The Ghost in the Snow
By dawn, the blizzard had broken, leaving the mountains blanketed in a deceptive, glittering peace. Nathan stood in his hospital office, the micro-SD card plugged into a secure, encrypted laptop. What he saw on the screen made his stomach turn.
Marcus Kane wasn't just a man with gambling debts, as Nathan’s private investigators had concluded seven years ago. He was a phantom accountant for the Sinaloa cartel's Pacific Northwest distribution ring. The files on the drive contained ledgers, offshore bank account routing numbers, and dates of massive money laundering operations spanning half a decade. Sarah must have discovered the files, downloaded them to ensure Marcus couldn't destroy the evidence, and hidden them in her old bracelet.
She had gathered the leverage to finally escape. And Marcus had caught her.
The door to the office opened. It was Elias Vance, Nathan’s head of private security—a former Navy SEAL who operated with a terrifying, quiet efficiency.
"We hit the house in the valley, boss," Vance said, his face grim. "Just like you asked."
"And?" Nathan demanded, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of his mahogany desk.
"Local PD hasn't been called yet. We got there first. The kitchen is a mess. Broken glass, a lot of blood on the tile. But no bodies." Vance paused, handing Nathan a tablet with a photograph of the crime scene. "Marcus is gone. And he took Sarah with him."
Nathan stared at the photo. The puddle of blood on the white tile matched Lily's horrific description. He struck her with a bottle.
"Is the blood volume lethal?" Nathan asked, his clinical brain fighting his rising panic.
"It's bad, Doc. But people have survived worse if they get patched up. The problem is, Marcus knows what Sarah stole. He’s going to torture her until she tells him where the drive is. He needs it to give back to his bosses, or they'll kill him."
Nathan closed his laptop and pulled the flash drive out, slipping it into his breast pocket. The cold, detached surgeon was gone. In his place was a man who had everything to lose and billions of dollars to spend to ensure he didn't.
"Vance," Nathan said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy whisper. "I want every camera, every cell tower, every toll booth between here and the Canadian border scrubbed. I want bounties put out in the underworld. Offer ten million dollars for Marcus Kane alive. Offer twenty million if Sarah is breathing."
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"Nathan, if we involve the cartel..."
"I don't care if we involve the devil himself," Nathan interrupted, walking past Vance toward the door. "Marcus Kane brought a war to my family. I am going to bury him in it."
