Chapter 5 - THE STAGEHAND’S SECRET
The atmosphere in the house shifted from tense to volatile over the next few days. Jax and his men fortified the perimeter. Ricardo was rarely seen without a phone pressed to his ear, orchestrating a silent war against Dominic Vale.
I kept Leo distracted, turning the estate's massive indoor garden into a jungle explorer's paradise. But the danger breached our walls not from the outside, but from within.
I was in the laundry room searching for Leo's favorite blanket when I overheard a hushed conversation. One of the estate's maintenance workers—a man who had claimed to be a former stagehand before coming to work for Ricardo—was whispering fiercely into a burner phone.
"The boss knows about the offshore accounts," the man hissed. "Vale needs to move now. Tonight. The security rotation changes at midnight."
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I backed away, my pulse deafening in my ears. I didn't run to the guards. I ran straight to Ricardo. When I burst into his study and told him what I’d heard, a terrifying calm washed over his face. He didn't yell. He simply buzzed Jax on the intercom and gave a single, chilling order.
"We have a rat. Handle it."
