Chapter 6 - The Man Who Betrayed Declan
Marcus Reed was found in a motel outside Newark.
He did not resist arrest when federal agents arrived.
By the time Declan reached the interview facility, Marcus had already requested legal counsel and refused to answer questions.
Declan sat across from him in a private room.
For several minutes, neither man spoke.
Then Declan placed a photograph on the table.
Sadie, standing in the warehouse office.
Victor beside her.
Marcus looked at it.
His jaw tightened.
“You knew she was there,” Declan said.
“I knew she'd seen something.”
“You sent the men who broke her arm.”
Marcus said nothing.
Declan leaned forward.
“Why?”
Marcus finally looked up.
“Because Victor said she had your father's ledger.”
“My father has been dead for twenty years.”
“Your uncle has been preparing for this longer than you realize.”
Declan's expression did not change.
“Explain.”
Marcus admitted that Victor had been paying him for nearly two years. At first, the payments were small—money for information about shipping schedules and personnel changes.
Then Victor began asking for access to private records.
Marcus told himself he was only sharing information. He never believed anyone would be hurt.
Until Sadie found the ledger.
“Victor said she was a threat,” Marcus explained. “He said we only needed to frighten her.”
“You broke her arm to frighten her?”
“I didn't do it myself.”
“But you arranged it.”
Marcus lowered his head.
“Yes.”
Declan sat back.
He had trusted Marcus with his security, his home, and his son's safety.
The betrayal felt less like a wound than a door opening onto a room he had never wanted to enter.
“Where is Victor now?”
“I don't know.”
“Don't lie to me.”
Marcus looked exhausted.
“He has a property in Connecticut. A house he uses when he wants to disappear. But he won't stay there long.”
“Why?”
“Because he's looking for the original ledger.”
Declan rose.
Before leaving, he turned back.
“You worked for me for twelve years.”
Marcus looked up.
“I know.”
“You had every opportunity to walk away. To tell me what was happening. To protect the people under your watch.”
“I was afraid.”
Declan's voice was cold.
“So was Sadie. She still chose not to hurt anyone.”
He walked out.
Outside the interview room, his legal adviser told him that Marcus had agreed to cooperate with investigators in exchange for consideration in his case.
The information could help locate Victor and establish the chain of command behind the assault.
Declan nodded.
Then he asked the question that had been troubling him since he saw the photograph.
“Why did Victor need Sadie alive?”
The adviser opened a folder.
“Because he believes she has the original ledger.”
Declan looked at the file.
The answer was worse than he had expected.
Victor wasn't trying to silence Sadie permanently.
He was trying to find out what she knew.
And if he discovered that she had already sent evidence to a federal investigator, he might decide that keeping her alive was no longer useful.
Declan immediately called the estate.
“Put Sadie and Jamie under the highest level of protection. No visitors. No exceptions.”
A moment later, his phone rang again.
It was Sadie.
May you like
Her voice was shaking.
“Mr. Watcher, someone's outside the gate.”
