Chapter 6 - The Ghost NodeTwenty minutes later, a nondescript black SUV slipped out of the hotel’s subterranean service exit, evading a pair of unmarked sedans parked across the street. At the wheel was Mateo, driving like a man possessed, while Damian sat in the back next to Emma.
The city lights blurred past the rain-streaked windows of the car. Emma stared down at her leather folder, her fingers tracing the embossed logo of her firm.
"Why did you do it?" Emma asked quietly, breaking the heavy silence inside the vehicle.
Damian turned his head, his dark eyes catching the neon reflections of the Chicago skyline. "Do what?"
"Build an empire of shadows. Run money through children's charities."
"Survival, Miss Hayes," Damian said, his voice dropping an octave, devoid of cynicism or apology. "My father built this city's underground on blood and brute force. When I took over, I realized men with guns are easily replaced. Men with ledgers run the world. If I didn't control the flow of capital, someone far worse—like Victor Vance—would have filled the vacuum and butchered my family."
Emma looked at him, seeing past the mafia boss facade to the cold, calculated architect of survival. It wasn't noble, but it made brutal, logical sense.
"And Paul Mercer?" she asked.
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"Mercer thought he could play both sides," Damian said coldly. "He thought he could feed my records to Vance, frame you for the leak, and walk away with ten million dollars in offshore Swiss accounts. He miscalculated."
"We're approaching the plant," Mateo interrupted from the front, turning the steering wheel hard into a dark, overgrown industrial alleyway.
