Chapter 6 - The Shadows of the Past
"Ronan, no," Ivy said, setting her cup down, her brow furrowing. "I didn't rebuild your ledgers for money or power. I did it because... because you were trying to do something good in a world that only wanted to destroy you."
"I know why you did it," Ronan said, reaching across the table to wrap his hand over hers. "And that is precisely why you are the only person alive I trust to share this burden."
Before Ivy could respond, the heavy brass telephone on the side table rang sharp and loud.
Ronan reached out and picked up the receiver. "Blackwood."
A rough, raspy voice echoed through the speaker—a voice from Ronan’s dark past that made his jaw tighten instantly.
"Hello, nephew," the voice said, distorted by static. "I hear you arrested my old friend Arthur Hale."
Ronan’s eyes turned into black ice. "Uncle Victor."
Ivy felt a cold chill run down her spine. Victor Blackwood—Ronan’s uncle, the former ruthless patriarch of the syndicate who had gone missing five years ago after being ousted in a bloody internal coup.
"I see you've been letting a sweet little maid run my old books, Ronan," Victor laughed—a dry, rattling sound like dead leaves scraping against concrete. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice when fifty million dollars stopped flowing into my Swiss accounts?"
"You're broke, Victor," Ronan said, his voice dropping into a deadly register. "You have no men left in Grayhaven."
"I have enough men to burn that pretty estate to the ground," Victor hissed. "Tell your little accountant to meet me at Pier 14 tonight with the master ledger keys. If she isn't there by midnight... I release the poison gas containers stored beneath the Harbor House Community Center."
The phone line went dead with a loud click.
Ronan slammed the receiver back onto the cradle, his face pale with fury. "Malcolm!" he roared.
Malcolm rushed into the room. "Sir?"
"Lock down the estate," Ronan ordered, standing up immediately. "Deploy the security team to Pier 14. Mobilize our men at the docks."
Ivy stood up, grabbing Ronan’s arm. "Ronan, wait! Did he say the Harbor House Community Center?"
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"That’s where the children from the charity gala came from," Ronan said, his chest heaving with rage. "Victor placed chemical weapons beneath an orphanage three years ago as an insurance policy. He’s insane, Ivy."
"He doesn't want the ledger keys, Ronan," Ivy realized, her sharp mind analyzing the threat in seconds. "He wants you at Pier 14 so he can ambushing you while your security is divided!"
