Chapter 3 - THE FIFTEEN NAMES
At 2:17 in the morning, Damon entered his private office.
Marisol Ortega stood beside the desk.
His security director, Marcus Shaw, waited near the window.
On the table lay a printed list.
Fifteen names.
Kate had remembered eleven.
The remaining four appeared in Ethan's recent communications, obtained through lawful investigative channels after a police report and preservation requests.
The men worked for different organizations.
A hospital security contractor.
A private transportation company.
A political consulting firm.
A cybersecurity vendor.
And a charitable foundation connected to Senator Whitcomb.
At first glance, they had nothing in common.
Except that each had received money from the same intermediary.
A company called Meridian Strategies.
Damon looked at Marcus.
“Who owns Meridian?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Officially, a holding company in Delaware.”
“And unofficially?”
Marcus placed another document on the desk.
“Senator Whitcomb's campaign treasurer.”
Damon stared.
The fifteen men weren't ordinary bodyguards.
They were part of a private intimidation network.
They gathered information.
Tracked vulnerable people.
Applied pressure.
And made inconvenient witnesses disappear from public view through threats, fraudulent complaints, and coercive agreements.
Damon leaned back.
“Where are they now?”
Marcus checked his phone.
“Several are leaving New York.”
Damon's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Someone warned them.”
Damon looked toward the window.
The city glittered beneath him.
Then he said:
“Preserve everything. Send the evidence to the investigators. And make sure none of these men can get near Kate or her mother.”
Marcus nodded.
By sunrise, fifteen men had vanished.
Not because Damon had ordered them killed.
But because the moment they realized their network was exposed, they abandoned their offices, apartments, and scheduled meetings.
Some fled the state.
Others shut down their phones.
Three attempted to leave the country.
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All fifteen had become the subjects of a widening criminal investigation.
And Ethan Whitcomb had no idea how much trouble he'd brought to his father's door.
