Chapter 5 - The Midnight AllianceBlake scooped Maya up into his arms. She was startlingly light, like a bundle of dry twigs. She didn't fight him; instead, she buried her face into the shoulder of his cashmere shirt, completely exhausted.
He carried her past the security checkpoint and straight to his private elevator. The night guard, a young man named Toby reading a paperback at his desk, looked up in shock as the billionaire walked by holding a dirt-smudged little girl wrapped in a suit jacket.
"Mr. Harrington? Do you... do you need assistance?" Toby stammered, standing up.
"Toby, call an ambulance to my penthouse immediately. Tell them it's a priority response for hypothermia and exhaustion," Blake ordered, his tone absolute. "And listen to me very carefully. If anyone asks you who was in this garage tonight—anyone at all, including Marcus Vance—you were asleep. Understand?"
Toby swallowed hard, recognizing the dangerous authority in Blake's voice. "Yes, sir. Right away."
Up in the penthouse, the contrast was jarring. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows offered a panoramic view of the gleaming Chicago skyline, bathed in neon and moonlight. Marble floors, minimalist art, and absolute silence.
Blake laid Maya gently on the plush velvet sofa in his private study. He immediately called his personal physician, Dr. Elizabeth Vance (no relation to Marcus, thank God), demanding she come to the penthouse immediately with a full pediatric kit.
While waiting, Blake brewed a warm cup of honey tea in his high-tech kitchen. When he brought it back, Maya was sipping it slowly, wrapped in a plush wool throw blanket.
"Maya," Blake said, pulling up a chair beside her. "We need to find your family. Do you know where the emergency shelters are around Ironwood?"
Maya shook her head. "They took everyone to the old community center on 5th Street after the street closed, but the police told us to move away. We were hiding in the subway station until the guards chased us out. That's how I got here."
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Blake’s jaw tightened. The city was sweeping the displaced families under the rug, burying the human cost of his development project to protect the investors' pristine image.
"Not anymore," Blake murmured, his eyes hardening with a cold, absolute resolve. "They aren't hiding anymore."
