Chapter 4 - THE SHADOW IN THE GARAGE
The underground parking garage was freezing cold and filled with concrete echoes.
Flickering fluorescent lights cast long, erratic shadows across the parked cars.
Richard sprinted through the rows of vehicles, his chest heaving.
His boots slapped loudly against the oil-stained concrete floor.
He reached the exact column shown in the photograph from the black envelope.
Column C-12 was empty, but fresh tire marks spanned across the floor.
Richard stopped, leaning against the cold concrete pillar to catch his breath.
He pulled out the photograph again, studying the face of the mysterious man with the silver watch.
"Looking for someone, Vance?" a gravelly voice called out from the shadows.
Richard spun around instantly, pulling his hand out of his jacket.
A tall man stepped out from behind a heavy concrete support beam.
He was wearing a dark leather vest, heavily tattooed across his neck and arms.
His long black hair was tied back, and a rough beard covered his jawline.
It was Jax, the man from the motorcycle racer photograph.
"You dropped the envelope," Richard said, holding his ground.
"I didn't drop it. I placed it where only you would find it," Jax replied, taking a step closer.
"How do you know Victoria?" Richard demanded, his eyes narrowing.
Jax let out a harsh, bitter laugh that echoed through the empty garage.
"Know her?" Jax asked, pulling back his sleeve to reveal a deep, jagged scar across his wrist.
"Victoria Vance ruined my life twenty years ago," Jax said, his voice dripping with venom.
"She took my brother, took my career, and bought every cop in this city to keep me quiet."
Richard stared at the man, processing the sudden revelation.
"What does any of this have to do with my daughter Maya?" Richard asked.
Jax took another step forward, his dark eyes fixing intensely on Richard.
"Maya isn't just your daughter, Richard," Jax said quietly.
Richard’s blood ran cold. "What are you talking about?"
"Victoria stole a child from the private clinic in 1998," Jax revealed, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
"She couldn't carry a child, so she bought one off the black market and forged the birth records."
"Maya isn't blood-related to Victoria," Jax declared firmly.
Richard felt the ground slipping away beneath his feet.
"That's impossible... I was there when she was born," Richard stammered, his mind racing.
"You were away in London for three months on business, Vance," Jax reminded him ruthlessly.
"When you came back, Victoria presented you with a healthy baby girl."
"And the real biological mother of that baby?" Richard asked, afraid to hear the answer.
Jax leaned in close, his breath smelling of stale tobacco and rain.
"The real mother was my younger sister," Jax revealed.
"And Victoria paid a corrupt surgeon to make sure my sister never left that delivery room alive."
Richard stumbled back a step, slamming his back against Column C-12.
The horrific realization hit him like a physical blow.
Victoria wasn't just trying to control Maya; she was repeating history.
"She wants Maya's baby to cover up the family trust fraud," Jax explained grimly.
"If Maya dies before the baby is born, the entire estate defaults to Victoria's control."
Suddenly, the loud screeching of tires echoed from the entrance ramp above.
Two dark SUVs with tinted windows thundered down into the garage floor.
They accelerated rapidly, heading directly toward Column C-12.
"We're out of time!" Jax barked, drawing a heavy brass-knuckled grip from his pocket.
May you like
"Get in my truck!" Jax yelled, pointing toward an old black pickup parked in the corner.
The SUV doors flew open, and four men in tactical gear stepped out, holding iron batons.
