Chapter 4 - Blood and Ledger
Michael Reed arrived at the Cermak freight terminal fifteen minutes later, kicking open the heavy steel door with a tactical shotgun cradled in his arm. He took one look at my face—shadowed by the harsh, bluish glow of the computer monitors—and lowered his weapon slightly.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Daniel,” Michael said, dropping a duffel bag of extra ammunition onto the metal table.
“Ghosts are easier to deal with, Michael,” I replied, spinning my chair around. I tossed the black leather ledger onto the table in front of him. “Open it. Read page forty-two.”
Michael flipped through the crisp pages, his calloused fingers pausing as his eyes scanned the transactions. As a veteran enforcer, Michael knew the anatomy of a cartel, but what he saw in those pages made even his weathered face pale.
“Alcyone Ventures,” Michael whispered, looking up at me. “That’s... that’s Viktor’s primary laundering front. How did you get this?”
“Claire left it in the nursery,” I said flatly. “Along with a complete dossier on every illegal asset I own, every shadow corporation, and every bribe paid to local officials over the last decade.”
Michael’s eyes narrowed, his protective instincts kicking in instantly. “She ratted you out? To who? The Feds?”
“Worse. To Viktor Vance.” I stood up, pacing the length of the concrete room. “I thought my biggest problem was that she found out about the woman on Milwaukee Avenue. I thought she was just a heartbroken pregnant wife packing her bags to stay with her sister in Wisconsin. I was arrogant. I was blind. She wasn't running away from my infidelity—she was executing an exit strategy from a war she knew was coming.”
“If Viktor has that ledger,” Michael said, his voice dropping an octave, “he has the leverage to seize your entire portfolio by Monday morning. He can freeze your bank accounts, blackmail your board of directors, and hand your empire to the Feds on a silver platter without firing a single shot.”
“Not if we get to him first,” I said, pulling my Sig Sauer P226 from its holster and checking the magazine. “We hit the Lake Forest estate tonight. We take Vance, we get the digital backups, and we find out where my wife is.”
“Boss, Lake Forest is a fortress,” Michael warned. “Vance has private security forces patrolling the grounds 24/7. It’s a suicide mission to go in loud.”
“Who said anything about going in loud?” I smirked, a dark, dangerous edge returning to my voice. “We aren't going to war with Viktor. We’re going to negotiate. And if negotiations fail... well, I built this empire on blood and concrete long before Claire ever walked into my life. I can tear it down just as easily.”
Before Michael could reply, my cell phone rang. It wasn't an encrypted message this time. It was a standard cellular call from an unknown caller ID.
I swiped to answer and pressed it to my ear.
“Daniel,” a smooth, melodic voice purred on the other end. It was a voice I recognized instantly from high-society galas and underground poker games.
May you like
“Viktor,” I growled.
“You’re looking in all the wrong places, old friend,” Viktor laughed softly. “Your wife sends her regards. And by the way... she likes the penthouse much better without you in it.”
