Chapter 9 - The Clock Runs Out
The realization hit Clara like a physical blow. Marcus wasn't just running away to Zurich with another woman. He was faking his death to cash out a secondary payout, and he had deliberately left his wife and sons behind as the bait to convince his dangerous associates that he was truly dead. The men hunting Marcus would come for her, assuming she held the payout or the proof of his demise.
She scanned the documents rapidly, downloading key files onto a disposable flash drive she purchased from the library desk with her last few dollars. Locker 19 at the Industrial Wharf wasn't just a storage bin; the files listed it as a transfer vault containing fake identification papers, a duplicate vehicle key, and fifty thousand dollars in bearer bonds meant for his escape route.
""Mrs. Hayes?""
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Clara snapped around, her heart vaulting into her throat. An unfamiliar man in a navy trench coat stood three feet away from the terminal. He didn't look like the street thugs who had broken into her home; he was lean, pale, and possessed the chilling poise of a federal investigator or a high-end corporate fixer.
""Quietly, please,"" the man whispered, displaying a brass badge tucked into his lapel. ""I’m Agent Vance, Federal Financial Crimes. Your husband made a deal with people who do not negotiate, and he left you on the track. Step away from the computer and bring the boys. We have about three minutes before Marcus's buyers locate your IP address.""
