Chapter 17: The missing piece

Scarlett’s POV

The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead like a swarm of angry bees. I sat in a steel chair, the walls of the federal safehouse pressing in on all sides. The hum of computers and murmurs of agents created a constant background, but it felt hollow somehow. Empty. Because one thing was missing.

The USB.

I kept turning it over in my mind. The last time I held it, it had been tucked safely into my jacket. Then, in a blur of adrenaline and fear, it disappeared. Gone. And with it, the key to Dad’s secrets the evidence that could bring down Kade, or at least track him.

Damien crouched beside me, elbows on his knees, jaw tight. “We’ll get it back.” His voice had the force of certainty I desperately wanted to believe.

I swallowed hard. “How? He’s already inside. Someone else could be working for him… inside this building.”

Damien’s eyes darkened. “Then we need to assume that. Every agent, every system, everyone he’s watching for a mistake. And he’ll take advantage of it.”

I hugged my knees, heart hammering. Fear slid down my spine like ice water. This wasn’t a game anymore. The stakes had never been higher. Kade wasn’t just taunting me anymore; he had leverage.

Mom had been escorted to a separate wing for evaluation, shaken but alive. Her hands were white around the journal, pages still pressed to her chest as though the leather alone could protect us. Every time I glanced at her, I saw the fear hiding beneath her calm. The same fear I felt in my chest, clawing its way up through my throat.

I couldn’t let him win.

Reilly appeared, pacing like a predator. “We have a lead,” he said, snapping me from my thoughts. “Someone was seen near Ghost Harbor last night, acting suspiciously. Security cameras picked up a vehicle matching Kade’s pattern black sedan, tinted windows, plates swapped at least three times.”

“Meaning he’s planning something,” I muttered. “And he knows we’re moving.”

“Exactly,” Reilly said. “And that’s why we need you to do something risky.”

I blinked. “I’m listening.”

He leaned closer, voice low. “We need you to go to Ghost Harbor. Retrieve the evidence. He’ll come after you. That’s the point. We need him to chase you, not Mom. Not Damien.”

My stomach dropped. “You want me to bait him?”

“Essentially,” he said. “You’re the only one he trusts or fears enough to follow.”

I pressed my hands over my face. Bait? I’m supposed to run into him?

Damien’s hand found mine. “You’re not alone. I go with you. Always.”

His presence steadied me, but the idea of walking straight into Kade’s trap felt like suicides.

Night fell fast. The federal safehouse felt alive with shadows as we prepared. I packed lightly journal, backup flash drive with scanned notes, minimal personal items. Damien checked my gear, sidearm and knife, then strapped himself in next to me.

Mom hugged me tightly before we left. “Be careful,” she whispered. “Scarlett… don’t let him win.”

I nodded, swallowing hard, but I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The weight of her words pressed into me like stone.

Outside, the black sedan waited, unmarked and humming. Reilly climbed in with us, driving through silent streets, the city sleeping under a blanket of fog.

When we arrived at Ghost Harbor, the air was sharp with salt and cold. The docks stretched ahead, creaking under the wind. A few lights flickered, casting long shadows that danced across the water like wraiths.

I shivered not from the cold. From the sense that we weren’t alone.

Damien kept close. “Stay alert,” he whispered. “Every shadow could be him. Or someone working for him.”

I nodded, my fingers tightening around the journal. The coordinates from Dad’s notes guided us to an old warehouse, abandoned and rusting. Its windows were dark, the doors chained and padlocked.

I pulled out a small set of tools Reilly had given me. The lock clicked open with a satisfying snap.

Inside, the smell of mold and oil hit me. The floorboards groaned beneath our feet. Rows of crates lined the walls. I held my breath. Somewhere in this darkness, Kade could be watching.

I scanned the warehouse. And then I saw it a faint glow under one of the crates.

“That’s it,” I whispered. The flash drive.

I knelt to grab it, and the floor beneath me shifted with a soft creak.

“Move!” Damien hissed.

From the shadows, a figure stepped forward tall, broad, hood pulled low. Kade.

“You came,” he said, voice low, dangerous, like a snake coiled tight. “I wondered when you’d finally step into my game.”

My stomach dropped. I didn’t answer. I barely breathed.

He circled us slowly, tattoos glimpsed under rolled sleeves, chest muscles taut beneath his hoodie. “You think you can outsmart me, Scarlett?”

I swallowed hard. “I’m not trying to outsmart you. I’m ending this.”

A laugh, low and cruel, escaped him. “Ending me? Oh, my little girl, you don’t even know the rules.”

Damien stepped in front of me, hand on my sidearm. “Back off.”

Kade tilted his head. “Or what?”

“You don’t get another chance,” Damien said.

Kade’s grin widened. “I’ve never needed a second chance.”

The next moments are a blur. Kade lunged. Damien moved first, gun raised, but Kade was fast too fast. He grabbed Damien’s arm, twisting it, sending the pistol clattering across the floor.

I dove for the USB, heart hammering. Fingers closed around the plastic case just as Kade lunged at me.

Instinct and adrenaline carried me backward, slamming into a crate. The flash drive slipped, skidding across the floor toward the far wall.

I scrambled, hands shaking, as Damien wrestled Kade to the ground. He was strong, impossibly strong. Every strike, every push, felt like it would break bones.

But I couldn’t stop. My hands closed around the flash drive. I shoved it into my pocket, my heart thudding so hard it felt like it would crack my ribs.

Kade’s attention shifted. He smiled, cruel and knowing. “You have it,” he said. “I’ll be seeing you soon, Scarlett.”

Before either of us could react, he vanished.

Just like that. Gone. No trace. No sound.

I sank to the floor, shaking, the USB in my hand. Damien knelt beside me, checking for injuries.

“Are you okay?” he asked, voice tight.

I nodded, but tears burned my eyes. Not from pain. From fear. From anger. From the realization that Kade was always one step ahead.

We made it back to the car without further incident, driving through silent streets, fog curling around the tires.

Back at the federal safehouse, I sat on a chair in the sterile light, breathing like I’d run a marathon. Damien stayed beside me, unyielding, protective.

Reilly entered, eyes sharp. “You have it?”

I held up the USB. “Yes. But he knows we’re onto him. And he’ll come back.”

Reilly nodded. “Then we prepare. No mistakes.”

I clutched the flash drive, feeling the weight of my father’s legacy in my hands. Kade had taken a piece of my world. But I still had the

rest. And I wouldn’t let him win.

The battle wasn’t over.

It was only just beginning.

And this time, I will be ready.