CHAPTER 10
The hotel suite was spacious,
yet it felt incredibly small and suffocating,
as Megan paced across the polished hardwood floor.
She could not shake Julian's words from her mind,
each syllable echoing like a ticking time bomb,
threatening her newfound stability.
She called her lead investigator,
a trusted friend of her late father,
demanding a full audit on Jack's personal assets.
"Look into every account,
every property,
and every safe deposit box he ever owned,"
she commanded,
her voice sharp as a razor.
"If he left a hidden trail,
I need to find it before Vance does."
Meanwhile,
across the country,
Jack sat in his small apartment,
staring at a faded photograph of Lily when she was a child.
The room was quiet,
save for the hum of the refrigerator,
and the distant sound of passing cars outside.
He had given up his wealth,
his status,
and his reputation,
yet the guilt still weighed heavily on his chest.
He wanted to be a father,
a real one,
but he knew that years of neglect could not be erased,
not by a few shared meals or tearful apologies.
His phone rang on the wooden counter,
the screen illuminating the dark room,
breaking the heavy silence.
He picked it up slowly,
noting the caller ID was restricted,
and placed it to his ear without speaking.
"Jack,"
a voice sneered,
"you thought you could just walk away from the deal?"
It was Marcus,
his former business associate,
a man who operated in the darkest corners of the financial world.
"The deal is dead,
Marcus,"
Jack replied,
his voice tired but resolute,
"I gave everything to the authorities."
"Not everything,"
Marcus hissed,
"you still have the encryption key to the offshore ledger,
the one with Vance's name on it."
Jack felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead,
realizing his past was refusing to stay buried,
and it was heading straight for the people he cared about.
"If you go near Lily,
or Megan,
I will personally ensure you never see the light of day,"
Jack threatened,
surprising himself with the sudden burst of anger.
"You are in no position to threaten me,
old friend,"
Marcus laughed,
before hanging up.
Jack dropped the phone,
his hands trembling,
as he realized the danger they were all in.
He had to warn Megan,
even though he knew she hated him,
even though she had every right to never speak to him again.
He grabbed his coat,
stepping out into the cool night air,
determined to fix his mistakes before it was too late.
He could hear the wind howling through the alleyways,
like a warning of the chaos to come.
He knew he had to act fast,
May you like
because the wolves were circling,
and time was running out for everyone involved.
