Chapter 13 - TOUCHING DOWN IN THE WINDY CITYThe Chicago skyline looked different through the windows of our private jet. The towering glass monoliths still pierced the gray autumn clouds, but the phantom weight of fear that had once choked the city for me was entirely gone.
We slipped into the city quietly, utilizing a network of safe houses and federal contacts who owed their careers—and in some cases, their freedom—to the dossier I had handed them years ago.
"The meeting with the federal prosecutor is set for tomorrow morning at sunrise," Marcus said, sliding a thick manila folder across the mahogany table of our downtown safe house. "They want to shut down this legal loophole before Adrian’s defense team can even file the motion in front of a compromised judge."
I nodded, adjusting the collar of my trench coat as I looked out the rain-streaked window at the bustling streets below.
"And Adrian?" I asked. "Where is he right now?"
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"St. Jude’s Prison Hospital, wing four. Guarded twenty-four seven," Marcus replied, watching me closely. "You don't have to see him, Victoria. The legal team has enough precedent to crush his petition without you ever stepping foot in that sterile hellhole."
"No," I said, turning away from the window with a calm, resolute certainty. "If this ends, it ends with me looking him in the eye. He needs to know that the empire he built on blood and lies couldn't buy him a single second of my daughter's life."
