Chapter 3 - The Fifteen Men
At 9:30 that evening, Declan received a message from an unknown number.
It contained fifteen names.
Beneath them was a single sentence.
These are the men who touched your maid.
Declan read the list twice.
Some names belonged to low-level enforcers associated with Blackthorn. Others belonged to warehouse supervisors, drivers, and security contractors.
One name stood out.
Victor Watcher.
His uncle.
Declan stared at the screen until Marcus entered the room.
“You asked for the warehouse footage,” Marcus said. “We found a partial recording, but the camera was disabled before the incident.”
“Who disabled it?”
“We're checking.”
Declan placed his phone face down.
“Where were you last Thursday night?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Working.”
“Where?”
“At the office.”
“Can anyone confirm that?”
Marcus's expression tightened.
“What's this about?”
Declan rose.
“Someone broke my employee's arm. They threatened her brother. And she says she recognized you.”
Marcus went pale for a fraction of a second.
Then his expression hardened.
“She could be lying.”
“She could.”
“You're taking the word of a maid over mine?”
Declan stepped closer.
“I'm taking the evidence seriously.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“You should be careful. People like her can be manipulated. Maybe she saw something she didn't understand.”
“Then you won't mind answering a few questions.”
Marcus stared at him.
For the first time in twelve years, the security chief looked like a man calculating how quickly he could escape a room.
That night, Declan reviewed the fifteen names with his legal adviser and the head of his independent security team.
He did not order anyone killed.
He did not send men to drag suspects into basements.
Instead, he authorized a coordinated operation to locate the individuals, preserve evidence, protect witnesses, and prevent anyone from contacting Sadie or Jamie.
By midnight, several of the men had been detained by authorities on outstanding warrants. Others were located by private investigators and placed under lawful surveillance while the police prepared their next steps.
Three could not be found.
Marcus was among them.
At 2:14 a.m., his office was discovered empty.
His desk had been cleared.
His access card had been used at the underground garage.
And his personal phone had been switched off.
Declan stood in the security room watching the footage.
“Where did he go?”
Marcus's deputy shook his head.
“We don't know.”
“Find him.”
At 3:05 a.m., another message arrived.
You have the wrong fifteen men.
Declan's expression turned cold.
A second message followed.
The men who broke her arm were only the messengers.
Then came a photograph.
Sadie was visible in the background of a warehouse office, standing beside a metal cabinet.
She had never mentioned the cabinet.
Declan zoomed in.
A man stood beside her, his face partially hidden by shadow.
Victor Watcher.
His uncle had not retired.
He had been watching Sadie.
And he knew exactly where she had been.
Declan looked toward the treatment room where Sadie was resting.
He had believed the problem was a gang threatening a vulnerable employee.
Now he understood that Sadie had stumbled into a war that had begun long before she was born.
The fifteen men were not the center of it.
May you like
They were the outer layer.
And somewhere beneath them was a secret powerful enough to make Victor risk everything.
