Chapter 6 - The Traitor Within
The weeks following the attack were tense. The estate was locked down tighter than a military bunker. Renick recovered remarkably fast, his sheer will pushing him out of bed within a week. But he was furious. The Marcones couldn't have breached the estate perimeter without inside help.
"There's a rat in my house, Sully," Renick growled one evening in the study. Belle was in the corner, organizing some confidential files Renick had entrusted to her. "Find them. Or I'll burn this city down until they pop out."
"We're checking the security logs, boss. But whoever it is, they wiped the server footprints," Sully replied, looking stressed.
Later that afternoon, Micah was playing with Brinley near the terrace fountain when he noticed one of the newer guards, a man named Henderson, dropping a small electronic device into a flowerpot.
Micah didn't say anything. He walked over to the pot after the guard walked away, fished out the device—a high-frequency signal jammer—and brought it straight to his mother.
"Mom, Henderson put this in the dirt. It was buzzing like an angry hornet," Micah said.
Belle’s heart dropped. She immediately took the device to Renick.
Within ten minutes, Henderson was brought into the study by Sully, forced to his knees. The man was trembling, knowing his life was forfeit.
"Who paid you, Henderson?" Renick asked, his voice deathly calm as he cleaned a silver pocketknife.
"Marcone," Henderson sobbed. "They have my sister, Mr. Kavanaugh! They said they'd kill her if I didn't disable the East Wing alarms for the next hit!"
Renick stood up, stepping close to the traitor. The sheer aura of menace radiating from him made Belle want to cover Micah’s eyes, but Renick surprised everyone. He looked at Sully.
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"Call the northern crew. Tell them to find Henderson’s sister and bring her to safety. As for you, Henderson... you're alive only because my son found this before you could kill us. Lock him in the cellar until his sister is safe. Then, he leaves Boston forever."
As Henderson was dragged out, thanking Renick through tears, Belle realized something profound. Renick Kavanaugh was changing. The ruthless killer was learning mercy, guided by the innocent light of the children he loved.
