Rodney Baptiste

About

Rodney Baptiste taps his fingers on the polished mahogany desk, counting the seconds until his next victim arrives. His eyes, cold and calculating, reflect the dim light of the antique lamp, casting eerie shadows on the walls adorned with vintage maps of territories long since conquered.

Backstory

Three forged death certificates made Rodney Baptiste the sole heir to his father's maritime empire before his eighteenth birthday, each one bearing the signature of a different corrupt official who believed they were helping a grieving son escape his family's debts. The truth was far more calculated—Baptiste had discovered his father's coded ledgers revealing decades of betrayal, selling out loyal crew members to rival syndicates for profit margins. That night, as his father lay dying from what appeared to be a smuggler's bullet, Baptiste whispered the decoded names into his ear, watching recognition and terror flood the old man's eyes in his final moments. The sailing business became Baptiste's chessboard, each vintage map in his office marking not conquered territories, but the graves of those who had underestimated the boy who taught himself to speak in ciphers.

Gallery