Chapter 4 - The Enemy in the Boardroom
The next morning, Adrian took me to Moretti Tower.
I did not want to go.
I wanted to take my daughters, disappear into a cheap motel somewhere outside the city, change our names, and never see another man in a black suit again.
But the police had placed officers outside the apartment. My bank accounts were temporarily frozen while investigators reviewed the fraudulent transactions. My landlord had called three times, frightened by the break-in and asking whether “dangerous people” were coming to the building.
Running was no longer a plan.
It was a fantasy.
Moretti Tower was all glass and steel, rising over Chicago like a warning.
In the elevator, Josie held my hand. Willa stared at Adrian.
“Do you own the building?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you own the elevator too?”
“I suppose I do.”
“Do you own the sky?”
Adrian’s mouth almost curved into a smile.
“Not yet.”
Willa considered that seriously.
“You should.”
Luca turned away to hide a laugh.
At the top floor, Adrian led us into a conference room where three lawyers waited. So did a woman in a navy suit with silver hair and kind eyes.
“This is Meredith Shaw,” Adrian said. “She’s a federal prosecutor.”
I stopped.
“A prosecutor?”
Meredith nodded. “Ms. Ashford, I know this is overwhelming. But the records connected to your name may be part of a larger investigation.”
“You knew?”
“Not about you specifically,” she said. “We knew someone inside Moretti Development was leaking payment approvals. We just couldn’t identify the full chain.”
I looked at Adrian.
“You’re working with federal prosecutors against your own company?”
“Against anyone inside it who committed crimes,” he corrected.
A man entered the room then.
He was handsome, perhaps fifty, with a sharp jaw and a flawless gray suit. The confidence around him filled the room before he said a word.
“Adrian,” he said. “This is highly inappropriate.”
Adrian did not turn.
“Good morning, Victor.”
Victor Lennox.
The name clicked into place.
Lennox Urban Group.
My stomach twisted.
Victor’s eyes moved to me and the girls.
His smile was polite.
Too polite.
“So this is Ms. Ashford,” he said. “I’m sorry for your difficult situation.”
“Are you?” I asked.
He looked mildly surprised.
“I understand your ex-husband has caused considerable trouble.”
“My ex-husband worked with your company.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Did you know he used my identity?”
Victor’s smile remained in place.
“I’m afraid I don’t personally review every contractor’s paperwork.”
Adrian finally turned toward him.
“You knew,” he said.
The room went silent.
Victor’s gaze sharpened.
“Be careful, Adrian. Accusations can damage a company.”
“So can federal indictments.”
The girls clung closer to me.
Victor looked at them, and the friendliness vanished from his eyes for a split second.
Then he said, “You should think carefully about the people you place around your children, Ms. Ashford. Powerful men often create collateral damage.”
Adrian stepped between us.
“Leave.”
Victor gave a small, controlled laugh.
“You cannot protect everyone.”
Adrian’s voice lowered.
“I can protect them from you.”
Victor looked at him for a long moment, then left the room.
The door closed.
I realized I had been holding my breath.
Meredith looked troubled. “That was a mistake.”
“What was?” I asked.
“Letting him know how much we suspect.”
Adrian’s eyes were fixed on the windows overlooking the city.
“He already knew.”
That afternoon, security footage showed Victor’s driver meeting with Travis outside the police station before Travis’s arraignment.
But when police moved to question him, Travis was gone.
Released on bail.
Missing.
May you like
And somewhere in Chicago, my ex-husband was free again.
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