Someone manufactured these payments. Made them look like Morrison was buying something expensive and illegal through HeartSync when he wasn't.
But why frame a judge already working for us?
I dig deeper, opening his email folder. Most of it is mundane—case files, scheduling conflicts, the occasional communication with my father or Lorenzo about favorable rulings.
There, an email dated May 17th.
Subject: Reconsider
Judge Morrison,
My client is prepared to offer $5 million for your cooperation in our upcoming venture. The Basov/Quinn weapons shipment represents an opportunity that benefits everyone involved. Your position is critical to ensuring smooth passage.
All we need is your silence at the right moment.
Wire transfer details attached. Half now, half upon completion.
Meet us May 18th at 9:30 PM. A no-show will be considered a refusal, and a refusal will have consequences.
May 18th. 9:30 PM. The night of Sage's wedding. I was on the dance floor with her at 9:30. Anton asked me to walk with him shortly after.
Morrison was at the wedding. I saw him in the parking lot with Shane around 10, maybe 10:15.
He didn't show up to that meeting. Refused by not going.
And less than twenty-four hours later, he was dead.
I scroll through weeks of correspondence, searching for any mention of this client or prior contact. Nothing. The thread starts and ends with that single message. No response from Morrison. No follow-up from the sender.
The email address has already been deleted. A burner account, wiped clean.
Morrison wasn't dirty on this. He was a fall guy. Someone needed him gone and needed it to look like he'd betrayed both families. Someone who knew about the weapons shipment. Knew Morrison cleared the manifests. Knew his vulnerabilities well enough to frame him.
They manufactured the HeartSync payments first, making it look like he was hiring contract killers. Then they sent the email. When he refused, they had their excuse to kill him and make it look like the families were just cleaning house.
But the shipment itself? That's real. Too big an operation to fake. Dad and the Basovs have been planning this for months.
And if I found intel about it in Morrison's files, anyone with decent resources could have too. Every rival organization probably knows about this shipment by now.
So why are they still moving forward? Why not postpone until the security breach is identified? Maybe that's what Anton and Yuri are doing.
Regardless, this is exactly why Dad should let me help with intelligence analysis. I could have flagged this exposure weeks ago. But every time I try to contribute anything beyond party planning, I get dismissed.
I lean back, staring at the screen.
The fake payments are a misdirection. The email was a setup: they'd offered Morrison a fortune, knowing he'd refuse because he's been loyal for fifteen years, then kill him when he didn't show.
But why go through all this trouble just to frame and eliminate one judge?
Someone's using the shipment as an opportunity. Either to steal the cargo, to sabotage the alliance between the Basovs and Quinns, or to create chaos they can exploit for something else entirely.
They framed Morrison to throw everyone off. To make it look like we had an internal betrayal when the real threat is still out there.
And that threat killed Morrison. Nearly killed Shane. Put a hit out on me.
Whatever this is about, it's bigger than weapons.
The shipment is just the opening move.
