Chapter 30 - The Unsigned Warning
I stared down at the torn piece of lined paper in the dim amber glow of the terrace lights, the cold night wind whipping my jacket around my shoulders.
Arthur noticed the sudden change in my posture and stepped closer, squinting at the paper in my hand. "What is that, Leo? Another invoice?"
"I don't know," I murmured, my eyes scanning the shaky, erratic handwriting that didn't match anything I had ever seen before.
I held the paper closer to the light. The message wasn't signed with a name, nor was there a return address. It consisted of just three brief, chilling sentences written in heavy, frantic ink:
*“You think you own the whole county now, Leo. You think the debt is cleared and the gates are locked. But check the registry for Lot 412 by the river. The foundation you built your entire empire on was never yours to begin with.”*
My breath caught in my throat. Lot 412. The industrial waterfront property where our main logistics hub and distribution center was currently operating—the very crown jewel of Carter Holdings that generated half our daily revenue.
"Leo? What does it say?" Arthur asked, his voice tightening with sudden anxiety as he read the serious expression on my face.
May you like
Before I could answer, the entire terrace plunged into absolute, pitch-black darkness as every single exterior light on the tower flickered twice and died.
From the dark highway far below along the riverbank, a single pair of blindingly high-beam headlights suddenly flashed on, cutting straight through the freezing fog. And then, the heavy, earth-shaking roar of an unfamiliar diesel engine echoed across the valley, idling slowly toward the perimeter gates of Lot 412.
