Chapter 12 - The Visitor in the Rain
A cold autumn rain lashed against the windows of our suburban house as I sat at the kitchen island reviewing Lily's chemistry notes. A sharp, rhythmic knock rapped against the front door—not the frantic pounding of a panicked enemy, but the measured, three-beat cadence of someone who knew exactly who lived inside.
I walked down the dark hallway, unlatched the deadbolt, and pulled the door open.
Standing on the porch, drenched in gray rain, was a woman in an impeccably tailored trench coat. Water dripped from the brim of her hat, shadowing a face that looked like it had been carved from marble.
"Hello, Daniel," she said, her voice cutting cleanly through the sound of the storm. "Or should I still call you by the name the commissioners whispered in the back rooms?"
I didn't step back. I looked into the eyes of Eleanor Vance—former federal oversight director and the only person outside of Marcus who had ever mapped the full perimeter of The Ghost’s empire.
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"Eleanor," I said quietly, keeping my hand resting lightly on the doorframe. "You're a long way from Washington. The federal grand juries wrapped up months ago. The Cole and Hale families are already doing hard time."
"They're a distraction," Eleanor stepped past me into the foyer, shaking the rain from her coat without waiting for an invitation. "You thought by dismantling a couple of corrupt politicians and a regional construction firm, you’d wiped the slate clean. But you left a vacuum, Daniel. And in the underworld, vacuums don't stay empty for long."
