Chapter 2 - The Interrogation
The rain poured relentlessly over the industrial district of South Chicago, drumming against the corrugated tin roof of my private warehouse on 14th Street.
Inside, the air smelled of concrete, rust, and damp earth. A single overhead lamp hung suspended over a metal chair bolted to the floor.
Victoria sat in the chair, her wrists bound securely behind her with thick zip-ties. Her designer silk blouse was damp from the rain outside, and her expensive makeup was smudged, but her eyes held a sharp, defiant glint as I walked out of the shadows.
"Daniel!" she cried out, trying to force a look of panicked innocence onto her face. "What is the meaning of this? Your men pulled me out of my apartment! They treated me like a criminal! Have you lost your mind?"
I walked slowly toward her, stopping just outside the circle of yellow light. I didn't say a word. I pulled Claire’s binder from beneath my arm and tossed it onto a metal table beside her.
The heavy thud resonated through the space.
Victoria glanced down at the binder, then back at me. "What is that?"
"That is my wife’s legacy," I said softly, stepping into the light. "While I was busy being an idiot, letting you pour my drinks and tell me what a powerful man I was, Claire was documenting every wire transfer you made to Anthony Moretti."
Victoria went completely rigid. All the color drained from her face, leaving her skin looking like cheap wax.
"Daniel, wait—"
"Fourteen million dollars," I interrupted, my tone smooth, terrifyingly calm. "You funneled it through four shell companies in the Cayman Islands, thinking my accountants would blame the market fluctuations. You gave Moretti the security passcodes to my shipping hub at the Port of Chicago. And you thought I was too stupid to notice."
"It... it isn't like that!" Victoria stammered, her voice trembling as she realized the mask had been completely ripped away. "Anthony threatened me! He held my family’s debts over my head! I didn't have a choice, Daniel! I swear to you!"
I leaned down until my face was inches from hers. "You had a choice every time you looked me in the eye and lied. You had a choice every time you took a check from Moretti. But what you didn't know is that Claire intercepted every single one of your offshore accounts three weeks ago."
Victoria blinked in shock. "What?"
"The money isn't in the Caymans anymore," I said, a faint, cold smile touching my lips. "It’s sitting in a blind trust under my unborn daughter’s name. You stole from my company, Victoria, but my pregnant wife robbed you blind."
Victoria let out a breathless gasp, realizing she was caught between two dangerous forces. "Daniel, please... if Anthony finds out the money is gone, he’ll kill me! He thinks the port codes are going live tonight!"
I straightened up, turning my back on her as Michael stepped out of the shadows.
"Tonight?" I asked, looking back over my shoulder.
"Moretti’s men are moving a massive contraband shipment through Port 4 at midnight," Victoria confessed frantically, desperate to save her own skin. "They thought your security teams would be offline because of the codes I gave them!"
I turned to Michael. "Inform our tactical teams at the docks. We aren't locking Port 4 down."
Michael frowned. "Boss?"
"We’re letting Moretti’s men bring their shipment in," I commanded, my eyes narrowing into slits. "And then we are taking everything they have. If Anthony Moretti wants a war with my family, he’s going to get one. But first, I’m taking back control of my city."
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"And what about Victoria?" Michael asked, gesturing toward the chair.
"Hand her over to the federal authorities along with the paper trail Claire left behind," I ordered. "Let her spend the next twenty years in a federal prison thinking about the wife she underestimated."
