Chapter 5 - The Snake in the Grass
While Evelyn began her recovery at the sprawling lakeside estate in Oak Brook under round-the-clock medical care and Maya’s loving companionship, a dark storm was brewing in the underbelly of Chicago.
Julian Vane had not been acting alone.
Two days after Julian was handed over to federal authorities following his twenty-four hours in the cold container, Cole sat in his private office at the top of the Ashworth Tower.
Marcus stood across from the desk, his expression grim.
"We pulled the secondary bank records from Julian’s offshore accounts, boss," Marcus said, laying a map of the city on the desk. "Julian wasn't just stealing your mother's money for himself. He was funneling thirty percent of it to Dominic Vance."
Cole’s eyes narrowed into slits of ice.
Dominic Vance was the boss of the rival Syndicate operating out of the West Side—a ruthless, old-school mobster who had been trying to seize Cole’s shipping docks for five years.
"Dominic," Cole murmured.
"Vance knew your weakness was your past," Marcus explained. "He paid Julian to keep your mother hidden on the streets so that if a war ever broke out between your families, he could use her as untraceable leverage against you. Julian was supposed to keep her alive in a hidden tenement, but Julian got greedy and threw her out when the rent checks lapsed."
Cole stood up from his desk, his fists clenched so hard his tendons creaked.
Dominic Vance hadn't just tried to compete with him in business—he had orchestrated a psychological trap that almost resulted in his mother freezing to death on a curb.
"Does Dominic know we found her?" Cole asked.
"Not yet," Marcus replied. "Dominic thinks Julian was arrested for simple corporate embezzlement. But his lieutenant was spotted scoping out your mother's old neighborhood two hours ago."
Suddenly, Cole’s phone rang on the desk. It was an encrypted line linked directly to the security detail at the Oak Brook estate.
Cole snapped the phone to his ear. "Talk to me."
"Boss!" the security lead barked over the speaker, the sound of wind and distant engine roars in the background. "We have a situation! Two unmarked black vans just blew through the perimeter gate at the south entrance! They're heavily armed!"
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Cole’s blood went cold, then boiled into white-hot fury.
"Hold the house!" Cole roared into the phone, grabbing his coat and storming toward the private executive elevator. "I'm ten minutes out by helicopter! Do not let anyone near my mother!"
