Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO KNEW WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED
At three in the morning, Chicago Memorial Hospital was almost silent.
Claire sat beside Lily's bed beneath fluorescent lights that made everyone look exhausted.
Seven stitches.
A severe concussion.
No skull fracture.
No internal bleeding.
The doctor had called it a miracle.
Claire called it a warning.
She watched Lily sleep.
Every few seconds, her fingers tightened around her daughter's hand.
The door opened.
A man in a charcoal suit stepped inside.
Gray eyes.
Dark hair touched with silver.
A black leather briefcase.
Claire recognized him immediately.
Marcus Vance.
The attorney who had once taken Richard Bennett to court—and won.
"What are you doing here?" Claire whispered.
Marcus pulled up a chair.
"Sergeant Ramirez called me."
Claire's expression tightened.
"Why?"
"Because your family is already trying to bury the truth."
He opened his briefcase.
"They're preparing a statement claiming Lily caused an accident. They're going to describe you as unstable."
Claire closed her eyes.
"They already erased the cameras."
"No."
Marcus's answer was calm.
"They erased the local copy."
He slid a document across the table.
"The Hawthorne Grand has an automated cloud backup system. I filed an emergency
preservation order."
Claire looked at him.
"You saved the footage?"
"I protected it."
For the first time that night, Claire felt something other than fear.
Hope.
Then Marcus delivered the next blow.
"They're preparing an emergency custody petition."
Claire froze.
"They want Lily?"
"They want leverage."
Her blood turned cold.
"If they get temporary custody, they can force you into a settlement."
Claire looked at her sleeping daughter.
"No."
Marcus leaned forward.
"Then we don't defend ourselves."
Claire looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"We attack."
He placed a digital recorder on the table.
"Tomorrow morning, Bennett Development is announcing Ethan's fifty-million-dollar Riverside project."
Claire stared at him.
"What do you want from me?"
"Everything."
Marcus's eyes were cold now.
"Every bribe. Every secret. Every illegal deal. Every time your family buried the truth."
Claire swallowed.
For thirty years, she had protected the Bennett name.
Now she was going to destroy it.
She pressed the recorder.
May you like
And began talking.
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