Chapter 1 - The Paper Trail of Greed
Inside the quiet sanctuary of the private lounge, Riker Steel watched Owen and Lily sleep side by side on a plush leather sofa, draped under a soft cashmere throw blanket.
His phone vibrated against the polished table. It was Bernard Holt.
“I have Diana Harlo’s dossier,” Bernard’s precise, razor-sharp voice came through the receiver. “And it’s far worse than simple abandonment, Riker.”
Riker stood up, stepping toward the panoramic window looking out over the rain-slicked tarmac. “Tell me.”
“Thomas Callahan’s life insurance policy was two hundred and forty thousand dollars,” Bernard explained, paper rustling over the line. “Diana filed the claim three days after his death. But here’s the kicker: she also sold his mechanic shop on the South Side to a dummy corporation linked to Victor Vance—a notorious predatory developer—for pennies on the dollar. She liquidated Thomas’s bank accounts, paid off her personal gambling debts, and purchased a one-way ticket to Miami under her maiden name.”
Riker’s knuckles turned white around his phone. “And the children?”
“She was appointed their legal guardian after Thomas died,” Bernard replied gravely. “Without a formal relinquishment of parental rights or a court-ordered transfer, you legally cannot keep those children without facing kidnapping charges if she files a police report. And if she realizes you have them, she’ll use them as leverage to squeeze more money out of Thomas’s estate.”
Riker’s gaze returned to the bench where he had first seen the twins. He remembered Thomas Callahan—a man covered in grease and burns, pulling him out of a burning inferno seven years ago, refusing a single dollar for his bravery.
“She left them on a cold bench like garbage, Bernard,” Riker said, his voice dropping into a register that made even the seasoned attorney pause. “She won't get a single dime of Thomas’s legacy. And she will never set eyes on these children again.”
“Riker, listen to me,” Bernard warned sharply. “You are a powerful man in Chicago, but you are not above state family law. If you take those children to your estate without legal custody, Child Protective Services will intervene, and Diana’s lawyers will paint you as a mobster who snatched two orphans.”
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“Then we don't snatch them,” Riker said quietly, a cold smile forming on his face. “We force Diana Harlo to return to Chicago and surrender them on her knees.”
He hung up and turned to Marco. “Get the jet ready. We’re not going to New York. We’re going to Miami.”
