Chapter 5 - The Inside Man
The basement safehouse beneath St. Jude’s Memorial Hospital was secure, soundproofed, and heavily guarded.
Michael sat at a metal table, nursing a cup of black coffee while trembling violently. Across from him sat Daniel, leaning back against the brick wall with his arms crossed, spinning a heavy gold signet ring around his finger.
I stood beside Michael, keeping a protective hand on his shoulder.
“Start talking again, kid,” Daniel said, his voice deceptively calm. “And this time, leave out the theater. Who sold out my convoy route?”
Michael swallowed hard, looking up with wide, terrified eyes. “I... I swear on Mom’s grave, Daniel, I didn't know it was a hit when I bought the files. I just needed fifty grand to pay off loan sharks who were going to break my legs. A guy approached me on campus—said if I downloaded an encrypted flash drive onto the city archives mainframe, my debts would be wiped clean.”
“Who was the guy?” Daniel asked sharply.
“His name is Marcus Vance—Victor’s cousin,” Michael stammered. “He works inside your own financial division as a senior auditor! He’s the one who set up the shell companies and funneled the cash!”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed into slits of pure ice. Marcus Vance. The mild-mannered accountant he had trusted with his corporate books for over five years.
“You’re telling me Marcus engineered the hit on my wife from inside my own office?” Daniel asked, his voice dropping into a lethal whisper.
“He bragged about it when I met him to collect the final payment,” Michael whispered, shivering. “He said with Camille gone and the baby dead, you would lose your focus, and their syndicate could take over the shipping docks by spring.”
A heavy, suffocating silence filled the room. The realization that the betrayal came from within hit Daniel harder than any bullet. He closed his eyes for a brief second, his chest rising and falling heavily as grief and rage warred inside him.
Then he opened his eyes, looking straight at me.
“Your brother is an idiot,” Daniel said bluntly. “He broke federal law, stole syndicate funds, and nearly got himself killed.”
“Hey!” I protested angrily. “He was desperate!”
“Quiet, Rachel,” Daniel said, though there was no real malice in his tone. He looked back at Michael. “Your debts are cleared. But you’re leaving Chicago tonight. My men will put you on a private freight plane to Zurich. You stay there, get a real job, and never step foot in this country again. Understood?”
Michael blinked in utter disbelief. “You’re... you’re not going to kill me?”
“You helped save my son by bringing me to the truth,” Daniel said flatly. “That buys you a second chance. Don't waste it.”
Michael practically fell out of his chair nodding, thanking Daniel profusely before Salvatore escorted him out of the room to prep for the airport run.
Once the heavy steel door clicked shut, only Daniel and I remained in the safehouse.
I crossed my arms, looking down at him. “So. Marcus Vance. What are you going to do?”
May you like
Daniel stood up slowly, towering over me. He walked toward the door, then paused, looking back over his shoulder.
“I’m going to go have a chat with my accountant,” Daniel said softly. “And you... you’re going back upstairs to Suite A. Leo has missed his favorite nurse.”
