Chapter 7 - The Trap in the Docks
The week leading up to the custody hearing was filled with intense preparation, but a dark storm was gathering on the horizon.
Damon’s logistics empire was targeted in a major corporate sabotage.
On Tuesday night, a fire broke out at one of Cross Freight's major docks along the Mississippi River, destroying three warehouses and threatening to destroy shipping manifests that proved Damon’s company was entirely innocent of the federal smuggling charges.
At 1:00 AM, Damon’s head of corporate security, Marcus, burst into the mansion's study.
"Boss! It’s an arson job!" Marcus reported, breathless and sweat-stained. "Someone set fire to Terminal 4! The fire department is fighting it, but the private vault where the physical paper manifests are stored is about to burn!"
Damon stood up behind his desk, pulling on his heavy leather coat. "Who did it?"
"We caught one of the arsonists on security feeds," Marcus said, hesitating. "It’s Bryce Caldwell's brother... working in collusion with the Moretti cartel representatives who've been trying to force you out of the harbor."
Mara, who had been sitting in the corner updating the children’s weekly schedule, stood up, her face draining of color. "Bryce’s brother? Bryce is trying to destroy your evidence to help the feds drag you down?"
"Bryce was promised a cut of the harbor contracts if the Moretti crew takes over my territory," Damon said, his voice dropping into a deadly register. He pulled a heavy handgun from his desk drawer, checking the magazine with a sharp clack. "He thought he could use my legal troubles to win your custody case, while using his cartel connections to destroy my business."
"Damon, don't go!" Mara begged, rushing over to grab his arm. "It’s a trap! If you go down there with a gun, the feds will arrest you on the spot!"
Damon looked down at her small hand gripping his coat sleeve. "If those paper manifests burn, Mara, I go to prison for twenty years for crimes I didn't commit. My sons lose their father forever. I have to go."
"Then take the legal team! Call the state arson investigators!" Mara pleaded, her eyes wide with terror. "Don't play into their hands!"
Damon reached out, cupping the back of her head, pulling her face up to his. He pressed a hard, fierce kiss to her forehead.
"Watch my boys," Damon commanded softly. "I'll be back before dawn."
He pulled away and strode out of the mansion, Marcus following close behind.
The next four hours were an excruciating nightmare for Mara. She sat in the grand kitchen with Ruth, drinking cold coffee, listening to the rain slam against the glass, praying for Damon’s safe return.
At 4:30 AM, the front doors echoed through the silent house.
Mara ran out into the foyer.
Damon walked through the entrance. His face was smeared with soot, his leather coat smelled heavily of smoke, and his right sleeve was soaked through with dark, crimson blood.
"Damon!" Mara screamed, running to him.
May you like
He swayed slightly, catching himself against the carved banister. "The manifests... are safe," he gritted out through clenched teeth, his face pale beneath the soot. "We caught them... on video. Bryce Caldwell... is done."
Before he could finish the sentence, his eyes rolled back, and his massive body collapsed onto the marble floor.
