The safehouse was no longer safe.
Duncan slammed the tablet onto the table. "They breached the DOJ database last night. Full access to every sealed witness list."
Leo's face went pale. "That means they have all the names."
Eleanor rubbed her temples, trying to stay focused. "Ella's name?"
Duncan nodded grimly. "Your sister. Your mother. Hernandez's family. Monroe's children. Everyone is under protection."
Daniela stood frozen, the blood draining from her face.
"This isn't a leak anymore," Eleanor whispered. "It's a full breach."
"They have our entire playbook," Duncan added.
Leo's voice broke. "So what do we do now?"
Eleanor looked up, her voice ice-cold. "We adapt."
In his penthouse, Santos reviewed the full DOJ files on his private monitor. The names scrolled down like a hit list.
Ruiz stood nearby. "We can start eliminating them one by one."
"No." Santos was oddly calm. "Not yet."
"Then why steal it?"
Santos turned, smiling. "Because knowledge is controlled. If we kill them now, we create martyrs. Headlines. Federal attention."
He sipped his bourbon. "But if they disappear quietly… one by one… no one connects the dots. No one cares."
Ruiz nodded, understanding.
"Start with the most vulnerable."
By morning, Ella was gone.
Her apartment was empty, her phone disconnected. No sign of struggle. No sign of life.
When Eleanor arrived at the apartment, she tore through the rooms frantically.
"Ella!" she screamed into the silence.
Daniela followed, trying to steady her. "They took her alive. That's a message, not a hit."
Eleanor's voice cracked. "It's a message for me."
Duncan arrived moments later, his face tight with guilt.
"They're forcing your hand, Eleanor."
Leo whispered what no one wanted to say. "She's leveraged."
Eleanor collapsed onto the floor, fists clenched, tears blurring her vision.
"I'll kill him," she whispered. "I'll kill Santos myself."
Inside prison, Kayleigh sat across from Caro, who delivered the news with quiet satisfaction.
"They took Ella. Just like you predicted."
Kayleigh's smile was small but vicious.
"Good. Santos plays the part perfectly."
Caro frowned. "But if Eleanor folds—"
"She won't," Kayleigh interrupted. "Not yet. She'll rage. She'll fight. And in doing so, she'll make mistakes."
Caro exhaled. "And Daniela?"
Kayleigh's smile deepened. "Daniela's her weakness. We exploit that next."
Later that night, Duncan met Eleanor and Daniela in a secret underground parking deck — their safest neutral ground left.
He paced as he spoke.
"I traced the DOJ breach to a server inside the Bureau."
Daniela stiffened. "The mole."
"Yes. Someone embedded high. Deep enough that even my contacts couldn't ID them."
Eleanor exhaled sharply. "Which means Santos owns part of the Bureau."
Duncan nodded. "And probably someone in Justice."
Leo muttered, "We're fighting a ghost."
"No," Eleanor said, voice sharper now. "We're fighting a man who thinks he's untouchable."
Daniela stepped forward, her tone measured but decisive. "Then we make him touchable."
Their plan came together in whispers, deep in the night:
Stage a fake surrender.
Leak controlled evidence through Monroe.
Allow Santos to believe Eleanor is willing to negotiate for her sister's return.
"It's dangerous," Leo warned. "They could kill you both."
"They might try," Daniela admitted.
"But this is how we smoke out the mole," Duncan added. "Santos will move to collect. And when he does, we follow the chain."
Eleanor's voice was steady now. "We don't stop. No matter what happens."
Two nights later.
Eleanor and Daniela sat at a private table inside an upscale, empty restaurant. The "meeting spot" Santos had chosen.
The silence was deafening.
Finally, the door opened. Ruiz entered, followed by two men with concealed weapons.
"You're either very brave," Ruiz said, "or very stupid."
"Both," Eleanor answered.
Ruiz slid a flash drive across the table.
"Daniela walks away. You walk away. Your sister returns home. All debts cleared. But you vanish — permanently."
Daniela's jaw clenched. "You think we'll believe that?"
Ruiz smiled faintly. "You don't have a choice."
Just then — a subtle blink from Eleanor's earpiece. Duncan's voice, low and urgent.
"We have him. The mole just activated his secured line. He's here. In the building."
Eleanor's pulse spiked, but her face remained calm.
She smiled at Ruiz coldly.
"Oh, I think we have plenty of choices."
.
.
.
.
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To be continued