Chapter 23 - The Blackmail AttemptBy the time Julian’s SUV roared back into Nashville late that afternoon, the tension in the vehicle was thick enough to cut with a knife. We didn't even stop at the house; we drove straight to the federal courthouse downtown, where Amy and Frederick were already waiting safely inside, escorted by federal marshals.
As I walked into the secure intake room, Amy ran into my arms, burying her face in my shoulder. I held her tight, breathing in the scent of her hair, vowing silently that no one would ever threaten my family again.
“Are you both alright?” I asked, pulling back to check her face.
“We’re safe, Connor,” Amy nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek. “Federal marshals have been stationed outside our house since noon. But that’s not all. While we were waiting here, my phone received a text message from an unknown number.”
She handed me her phone.
The text contained an audio file and a short message: “Drop the Vanguard case, or everyone finds out what your father really did in ninety-nine.”
I pressed play on the audio file.
The speaker’s voice was clear, distorted only slightly by a digital filter:
“If Connor Bennett thinks he can destroy my family’s legacy, he’s gravely mistaken. Tell him the mortgage on his Tribeca apartment was funded by blood money, and I have the signed receipts to prove it.”
It was my mother’s voice, speaking from her holding cell.
Julian leaned over my shoulder, listening to the recording. “She’s bluffing, Connor. She’s desperate because she knows the Chattanooga vault contents just destroyed her entire defense strategy.”
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“It doesn’t matter if she’s bluffing,” I said, handing the phone back to Amy. “It means she still has allies on the outside executing her orders.”
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