Chapter 22 - The Phone Call That Changed EverythingMy phone buzzed in my pocket just as Julian and I stepped out of the federal bank in Chattanooga, the leather pouch safely secured in my briefcase.
I pulled out the phone, seeing Amy’s name flashing on the screen. I answered immediately, expecting her usual warm, cheerful voice.
“Connor,” Amy whispered, her voice shaking with controlled panic. “You need to come home right now.”
“Amy? What’s wrong? Are you and Frederick okay?” I asked, stopping dead in my tracks on the marble steps, my blood running cold.
“Someone was at the house,” she said, fighting back tears. “They left a note in the mailbox, Connor. They know you’re investigating something. They threatened us.”
Julian stopped beside me, seeing the look of sheer terror wash over my face. He gestured frantically, asking what was happening.
“Listen to me, Amy,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady so she wouldn't hear my own rising panic. “Lock all the doors right now. Bring Frederick inside from the patio. Call neighbor Mrs. Higgins and ask her to watch the front porch while you pack an overnight bag. Julian and I are turning the car around this second. We’ll be home in three hours.”
“Hurry, Connor,” she choked out before the line went dead.
I snapped my phone shut and looked at Julian. “They know we’re onto them. Marcus Vance’s people just threatened my wife and son.”
Julian’s face darkened with a lethal intensity. “Then we don't go back to Nashville quietly. We go straight to the United States Attorney’s office in downtown Nashville, bypass local law enforcement entirely, and drop this evidence directly onto the federal prosecutor's desk.”
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“Let’s move,” I said, our mission shifting from an investigation into an outright rescue and counter-attack.
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