Chapter 44: New Information And A New Plan
Zander
Liz is looking at me with a confused expression, while I am speaking with the two agents
staying here. I know she has questions for me, and I will answer every one of them. But right now, I don’t want these agents to know that I know what’s going on.
“So, what does this mean for us? Will security be increased in case she tries to come after
Liz? She had tried to kill her before.” I asked and they looked at each other. “Agent Johnson
will be by shortly with answers for us. Please don’t leave the premises.” one agent says before
they both walk off. Assholes.
I closed the door and walked over to Liz and pulled her into my arms. “Good morning my Liz. Why are you up so early? You hardly slept last night.” I said and kissed her lips softly. “I couldn’t sleep anymore. Please tell me what’s going on, Zander. I know you are hiding something from me.” she says, and I sigh and pull her with me to the bathroom and close the
door.
“I will tell you everything, but let’s shower first.” I say, and she gives me a confused look, but takes off her robe. I switched on the water and we both got in, and I pulled her to the corner. “I
don’t want us to be overheard.” I whispered in her ear. She looks up at me and frowns.
“Please tell me? I am beginning to worry now,” she says softly. I filled her in on everything I learned from agent Perez and everything Chris confirmed for me this morning. Chris called me before the agents came by and gave me the information that I needed on agents Johnson and
Perez. He is still working on getting information on Martha.
I don’t trust Martha at all, and I have known her for over three years. I met her through my
parents, and they asked me to help her when she got divorced. She then hired me as her attorney for all her business ventures. I mainly write the contracts for her and check that she
doesn’t get screwed over.
Everything has always been legit, but her actions are really making me wonder. “So, what do
we do now?” Liz asks me, snapping me out of my inner thoughts. “We do what we were asked
to do and play along. It’s the only way for us to be safe.
We have two choices, and I will leave it up to you. Either we see this through to the end, or we
run. If we stay, we have to do as we are told so that we can stay safe. Our lives aren’t our own
at the moment, and I know that isn’t what we hoped for.
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Chapter 44: New Information An…
I believe this plan can work, and then we can finally be Liz and Zander again. But if we run, we will always be looking over our shoulder. We would have to change our identities and leave
everyone and everything we know behind. I don’t think you really want that. I don’t either, but if you tell me to run, I will run with you.” I said.
“No, we stay. I want a normal life with you, Zander, and I will fight to get it. Just tell me what
you need me to do, and I am all in,” she says. I pulled her into my arms and held her. “Everyday
you give me more reasons to love you. You are so brave, my Liz.” I whisper and she smiles. “I
don’t know about brave, I am honestly filled with fear at the moment.” she says.
“Hold onto that fear, it will push you to fight harder to feel safe again,” I say. I hear my phone
ring, so I quickly get out, while she stays to actually shower. I missed the call, but I
immediately dialed Chris back. “Hey Zander, it looks like the cartel are the ones that broke
Tiffany out of prison.
Facial recognition picked up Horis Diaz and the very person we were looking for, Kyle Stanford
in the flesh. It seems he is with them now, and they helped him get her out. I don’t know where
they are hiding out yet, but I will find them.” Chris says.
“Why would they help him with such a dangerous job when he owes them money and tried to
flee?” I asked. “I don’t have proof, but I think it has to do with Liz. I think he offered her money
for his and Tiffany’s freedom.” Chris says. That makes sense, that man is an even bigger coward than I thought.
“Anything new about Martha?” I asked. “Zander, I know she was your friend, but something is
very off about her records. We did a standard background check on her when you took her on,
and everything looked in order. But now, I see that there are many things that don’t add up. Martha Silverman only has a real paper trail going back five years.
I checked her maiden name and that is where things got interesting. Her maiden name is
Cruz, but according to the records, Martha Cruz passed away six years ago. I am running a different program with the help of your genius friend, Tim. His software will look through the
social security records of every country. It will try to get a facial hit off the pictures on their
official documents,” Chris says.
“Tim is a genius, that sounds like exactly what we need. It definitely sounds like Martha isn’t
who she says she is. Please keep me posted.” I say and he agrees and hangs up. I went back
to the bathroom to tell Liz everything I had just learned. When we are both done, we get
dressed and head downstairs for breakfast.
I have given Rosa some forced leave. God, that woman is stubborn. I ended up telling her part
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Chapter 44: New Information An…
of the story, just so she would listen and stay home. She wants to be here to keep Liz and I
safe. But having her here will just be more of a worry for me. I love that woman like a mother
and I can’t ever risk her life like that.
I asked the staff to set up breakfast for us on the patio, so that Liz doesn’t feel the cabin fever
as much. “This is lovely Zander, I am glad you thought of it.” she says when she sees the
set–up. “Who says we can’t still enjoy some romance and fresh air while we are under house
arrest?” I say and she chuckles.
“It does feel like house arrest, doesn’t it? But thank you for always being you and making every
moment special.” She says and kisses me softly. We enjoyed our breakfast, before we took
some bread down to the lake to feed the few ducks that braved the cold water.
I had some work to do, so as soon as we went back inside, I went to my office and Liz went to
the library room. When it was nearly lunchtime, agent Johnson stopped by without agent
Perez. He just told us the same the other agents did and then explained their rotation to us. We will receive two new agents tomorrow. They are on a two–day rotation.
Shortly after agent Johnson left, Liz came running into my office again and showed me her phone. She received two messages from an unknown number. The first message had details of a bank account in the Cayman Islands. I know this account is going to be hard to trace. The owner will be hidden in so many shell companies, it’s going to be a nightmare to crack.
The second message had instructions for her to wire 10 billion to that account by 8pm tomorrow night, or they would come for her. They also instructed her not to involve the authorities. I immediately forwarded the messages to me, so that I could get Chris and Tim on it. Tim had already agreed, and he is a genius at cracking codes and breaking through
firewalls.
“What must I do, Zander?” Liz asked me. “Let’s hear what Perez says.” I asked and sent him a message on the phone he gave me, He immediately called back, and I filled him in. I sent him the details of the account, and he told me he had to let agent Johnson know to keep up
pretense.
Agent Johnson came back a few minutes later and took the information and made some calls to their office. “Don’t do anything until you hear back from me,” he said before he left. We both nodded and agreed and he left. “This is so stressful, Zander,” Liz says. “I know, but I am optimistic it will soon be over.” I say and she nods.
“At least they can’t get my money even if they try,” she says, and I nod. Tim helped us move her money to a trust account. No one knows about it, only myself, Liz, Chris, and Tim. Even if
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they do find it, that account has no early withdrawals, and we set it up so that you have to wait
30 days to access any funds after you apply for a withdrawal.
She doesn’t need the money now anyway, I am here for whatever she needs. “It’s sad to see
the lengths people will go to for money that isn’t even theirs. Greed makes people forget their
morals and oaths,” I say, and she nods. Every conversation we have now, has to be so hushed.
I really feel like a prisoner in my own home and I know Liz feels the same.
The next day, I got a text message on the encrypted phone and at least agent Perez had some
good news for me. The two agents that are coming today were handpicked by him and can be
trusted. He gave me their names and told me that he would be there this evening with agent
Johnson.
We don’t know for sure if they will strike tonight, but they want to be ready and waiting. When
the two new agents arrived, I was not happy. These aren’t the names Perez gave me. As soon
as I got a free minute, I messaged him to tell him. He didn’t answer, so I called. I still got no
answer after four tries. Something is wrong, I can feel it.
Ricard and his men were also on the premises and I could see the agents weren’t happy about
- it. They never said anything, but I could feel it. The closer it came to 8pm, the more nervous both Liz and I became. There was still radio silence at agent Perez’s end, and I was starting to
worry.
Agent Johnson arrived at 6pm with four other men, and they were stationed throughout the property. Agent Perez isn’t with him and that makes my worry grow. “Where is your partner?” | asked. “Agent Perez is under the weather. He called in sick today.” He says but I can tell he is lying.
I don’t know how, I just know. I already filled Ricardo in, so his men were watching the agents. Things aren’t going according to our original plan, but we made adjustments to ensure our safety. The agents assigned to us followed us like shadows the entire day.
We all sat and waited in the lounge and I could tell everyone was on edge. “It’s 8pm,” Liz says, and they all look at their watches and nod.
