Chapter 2 - Blood on the Ledger
Jax arrived in twenty minutes. He was a ghost in the system, an ex-military operative who existed entirely off the grid. He moved through her immaculate penthouse like a shadow, his eyes scanning every corner before landing on the pastry box.
"You bought this at the Pierre Bakery on 5th?" Jax asked, using a pair of tweezers to lift the locket.
"Every year at the same time," Eleanor said, pacing the length of the kitchen. "Marcus, my secretary, was with me. I handed the ticket to the clerk. They handed me the box. I didn't open it until I got here."
"Then the swap happened at the bakery," Jax muttered, pulling out a sleek, heavily encrypted tablet. His fingers flew across the screen. "Give me three minutes. I’m hacking Pierre's security mainframe."
Eleanor watched the city lights. She was a woman who could dismantle a Fortune 500 company before lunch, yet she had been entirely powerless to protect her own son. Never again.
"Got it," Jax said. He cast the video onto Eleanor's massive smart TV.
The black-and-white footage showed the bakery’s counter. Eleanor saw herself, standing rigid in her ivory coat. She saw Marcus beside her, looking down at his tablet. Then, a distraction. A man spilled a tray of coffees near the door. The clerk turned. In that split second, a hand reached across the counter from the blind spot near the display case, swapping the white box for an identical one.
Jax zoomed in on the hand. The resolution was grainy, but as the hand pulled back, the light caught a heavy, distinctive gold ring on the culprit's index finger. It was etched with an eagle clutching a serpent.
Eleanor’s blood turned to ice. "Pause it."
"You recognize it?" Jax asked.
"It’s a signet ring," Eleanor whispered. "The Order of the Potomac. It's an exclusive political club in DC. My late husband was a member. And so is Senator Hayes."
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The puzzle pieces snapped together with terrifying clarity. Marcus had told her earlier today that Senator Hayes had called twice, sounding urgent. She had ignored him.
"Load your weapons, Jax," Eleanor said, her eyes dead and cold. "We’re going to a charity gala."
