Chapter 6 - The Last Threat
Six weeks after the attack, Judge Harrison Whitmore resigned from the federal bench amid an ethics investigation unrelated to my case but intensified by scrutiny surrounding his son's behavior.
Bryce's attorneys were negotiating.
The other seven men were dealing with their own consequences.
But powerful families rarely disappeared quietly.
I discovered that when I received an envelope at my apartment.
No return address.
Inside was one photograph.
Me entering Mercer House.
Written across the bottom:
DROP THE CASE.
I didn't hesitate this time.
I called security.
Then Jude.
He arrived fifteen minutes later.
Not alone.
Victor was with him.
Jude held the photograph by its edges.
"When?"
"Twenty minutes ago."
"Did you touch the envelope?"
"Only the corner."
Victor nodded.
"Good."
Jude looked at me.
"You did exactly right."
Six weeks earlier, I would have hidden it.
That realization mattered.
"What now?"
"Police."
"No private solutions?"
Jude gave me a look.
"You made me promise."
"I remember."
"So do I."
Detective Chen arrived shortly afterward.
The investigation moved quickly.
Building cameras showed the delivery.
Traffic cameras identified the vehicle.
The man responsible wasn't Bryce.
It was Judge Whitmore's longtime private investigator.
That changed everything.
The next morning, Harrison Whitmore was questioned.
Two days later, prosecutors announced an investigation into witness intimidation.
When Jude told me, I sat silently.
"It's over?" I asked.
"The threat is."
"And Bryce?"
"Still facing charges."
I nodded.
Then Jude placed something on my desk.
A resignation letter.
His.
I stared at it.
"What is this?"
"Not mine."
I read the name.
Mine.
"You're firing me?"
"No."
"Then why is my resignation letter already written?"
"Because I want to offer you another position."
"Jude—"
"Independent Director of Employee Protection for Mercer Holdings."
I froze.
"You would report to the board."
"Not you?"
"Not me."
"Why?"
His expression softened.
"Because you're too good at this to remain responsible for one house."
I looked at the second document.
The position covered every Mercer property in the country.
Thousands of employees.
Independent authority.
A real department.
"This is enormous."
"Yes."
"You trust me with this?"
"Completely."
I looked at him.
Then understood.
"If I accept, you're not technically my boss anymore."
"No."
"Interesting."
His face remained perfectly neutral.
"Is it?"
"Very."
"Audrey."
"Yes?"
"Please don't make me regret being ethical."
I smiled.
"Can't promise anything."
I signed.
Jude took the papers.
"Congratulations, Director Sinclair."
"Thank you, Mr. Mercer."
He frowned.
"Don't start."
"Yes, sir."
"Audrey."
I laughed.
This time my lip didn't hurt.
Neither did my shoulder.
May you like
For the first time in years, nothing did.
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