Chapter 10 – Inside the Walls
Marcus stared at the photograph as a chill ran down his spine.
It had been taken through the nursery window.
The angle was impossible unless someone had been standing on the property only hours earlier.
Rebecca Collins examined the image with gloved hands.
"No fingerprints."
"No DNA."
She turned it over.
The back was blank.
"It isn't a threat," Marcus said quietly.
"It's a message."
Rebecca nodded.
"They're telling us they can reach you anytime."
David Sterling looked toward the security team.
"Lock the estate down."
Within minutes, FBI agents spread across the grounds.
Drones circled overhead.
K-9 units searched the gardens.
Every gate was sealed.
Yet no one found a trace of the intruder.
It was as if the person had simply vanished.
Later that evening, Khloe sat in the nursery, gently rocking in the chair Marcus had built for her months before.
Her hand rested on her stomach.
The baby's movements had become stronger each day.
"You've already survived more than anyone should," she whispered.
Marcus stood in the doorway, watching her.
"I'm not letting anything happen to either of you."
Khloe smiled sadly.
"I know."
"But promises don't stop bullets."
Marcus walked over and knelt beside her.
"No."
"They don't."
"But the people trying to hurt us have made one mistake after another."
Khloe looked at him.
"They keep underestimating us."
Before she could answer, Rebecca entered carrying a laptop.
"We recovered something."
She connected the computer to the television.
Security footage from the estate appeared on the screen.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
Then Rebecca slowed the recording.
A catering van drove past the front gate that afternoon.
It had been delivering supplies for the charity gala before being redirected to another venue.
One employee climbed out briefly to speak with a guard.
Only for thirty seconds.
Rebecca zoomed in.
The man's face remained hidden beneath a baseball cap.
But as he returned to the driver's seat, a small tattoo became visible on his wrist.
David's eyes narrowed.
"I've seen that symbol before."
Rebecca enlarged the image again.
A black raven.
Its wings spread inside a circle.
An FBI analyst immediately recognized it.
"The Raven Circle."
Marcus frowned.
"What's that?"
Rebecca closed the laptop.
"A private security network."
"They don't officially exist."
"They're former military contractors."
"Professional surveillance."
"Professional extraction."
"And, when enough money is offered..."
She paused.
"Professional assassins."
Silence settled over the room.
Marcus looked toward the nursery window.
"So Damian hired mercenaries."
Rebecca nodded.
"And they're already inside the country."
The next morning, the encrypted backup files were finally recovered from Marcus's home office.
An FBI cyber specialist connected the storage device to an isolated computer.
Lines of encrypted data scrolled across the monitor.
"Decrypting..."
Everyone waited.
Thirty seconds.
One minute.
Finally—
The folders opened.
Thousands of financial records appeared.
Wire transfers.
Contracts.
Internal emails.
Payment authorizations.
Rebecca smiled.
"This is everything."
David leaned closer.
Then his expression suddenly changed.
"Wait..."
He clicked on a folder that none of them had noticed before.
Its title was simple.
PROJECT PHOENIX
Marcus frowned.
"I've never seen that before."
Khloe slowly shook her head.
"Neither have I."
Rebecca opened the folder.
Inside was a classified memorandum signed electronically by Damian Voss.
The first sentence made every person in the room fall silent.
Phase One completed: Gain control of the Thorne Foundation.
Phase Two: Remove Marcus Thorne if cooperation becomes impossible.
Marcus felt his blood run cold.
Rebecca continued reading.
Her voice grew quieter with each line.
Then she stopped.
David looked at her.
"What is it?"
Rebecca slowly looked up.
"Marcus..."
"You were never the primary target."
She turned the screen toward him.
The final page contained one name highlighted in red.
Target Alpha: The unborn Thorne heir.
The room fell into stunned silence.
May you like
Damian Voss hadn't just wanted to destroy Marcus's business.
He intended to erase the future of the Thorne family forever.
