Chapter 4 - The Teddy Bear's Seam
Rain pounded against the black asphalt as lightning split the Boston sky.
Marcus stared at his lifelong friend and trusted attorney with cold disbelief.
"You sold me out, Julian?" Marcus asked, his voice steady despite the rage burning in his veins.
Julian adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses and avoided eye contact with Marcus.
"Eleanor showed me the evidence, Marcus," Julian said, his voice trembling slightly under the pressure.
"The board discovered massive financial fraud in Claire's estate accounts, and all the breadcrumbs lead to your offshore holdings."
Marcus tightened his grip on Chloe, sheltering her face from the icy rain.
"Claire died two years ago, and Eleanor has been trying to seize that trust ever since," Marcus snarled.
Dominic drew his concealed firearm beneath his rain jacket and stepped directly between Julian and Marcus.
"Boss, get in the vehicle now," Dominic ordered coldly.
"I will handle Mr. Foster."
Marcus jumped into the armored SUV, pulling the heavy door shut behind him.
Dominic reversed the vehicle in a screeching arc, smashing through the hospital's wooden gate and vanishing into the midnight traffic.
Marcus placed Chloe onto the leather seat beside him and wrapped her in a dry travel blanket.
Chloe was coughing softly, but she still clutched her worn teddy bear against her chest.
"Daddy, Barnaby is hurting my tummy," Chloe whispered weakly.
Marcus looked down at the old stuffed animal.
He had bought that brown bear for Chloe on her third birthday.
Marcus noticed that the seam along the bear's back had been clumsily resewn with thick red thread.
That was not the factory stitching.
"Where did this red thread come from, Chloe?" Marcus asked gently.
Chloe blinked her tired eyes and pointed a tiny finger at the bear.
"Mommy sewed it before she went on the long trip," Chloe whispered.
"Mommy said if Grandma ever got angry, I had to give Barnaby only to you."
Marcus pulled a small pocketknife from his pocket and carefully sliced through the red thread.
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Inside the cotton stuffing lay a heavy, waterproof silver thumb drive.
Engraved on the metal casing were the initials: C.V. - For Marcus Only.
