Marcus’s sister had vanished eight years earlier after trying to expose a hidden alliance between corrupt officials, private contractors, and criminal families who laundered blood money through legitimate businesses.
Everyone told Marcus she had died.
Everyone told him there was no child.
Cass knew the truth because she had been sent to erase it.
Instead, she had found a newborn baby wrapped in a hospital blanket, a dead mother’s warning recorded on a hidden drive, and enough evidence to destroy men who believed themselves untouchable.
So Cass ran.
She changed names. Changed cities. Took quiet jobs. Kept Lily hidden. Waited for the right moment to bring the truth into the light.
But truth has a strange way of choosing its own hour.
Marcus stepped out from the booth and looked at the men in dark coats.
“You came for the child,” he said.
The tallest man smiled.
“We came for what she carries.”