Chapter 8 - The Hammer of Justice
By nine o'clock the following morning, the blizzard had passed, leaving Chicago bathed in crisp, blinding sunlight. But for Marcus Keller, the world was completely black.
He sat in the emergency waiting room of Illinois Masonic Hospital, wrapped in a scratchy paper blanket. His feet were bandaged, three of his toes on his left foot purple and throbbing with severe frostbite. Chloe was huddled in a plastic chair beside him, her makeup smeared across her tear-stained face, while Evelyn complained bitterly to a triage nurse who refused to give her a private room.
Suddenly, the glass sliding doors of the clinic parted.
Two men in dark federal suits entered, flanked by four uniformed Chicago police detectives. They walked past the triage desk without checking in, their badges already pinned to their lapels.
""Marcus Keller?"" the lead investigator barked, stopping in front of the accountant.
Marcus looked up, trembling. ""Yes? Are you here about the break-in at my house? Matteo Bellini attacked us! He broke my door down!""
The investigator sneered, pulling a heavy sheaf of legal warrants from his briefcase. ""Marcus Keller, you are under arrest for seven counts of federal wire fraud, four counts of corporate embezzlement, identity theft, and grand larceny exceeding one million dollars.""
Marcus’s jaw dropped. ""What? That's impossible! I only used company files for the title transfer!""
""That's where you're wrong,"" the detective stepped forward, snapping heavy steel handcuffs around Marcus’s wrists despite his groans of pain. ""Mr. Bellini’s forensic audit team spent the last eight hours tearing apart every ledger you touched over the past four years. They discovered you’ve been skimming payroll taxes from three subsidiary accounts, funneling cash into an offshore account in Belize under Chloe Vance's maiden name.""
Chloe shrieked, jumping out of her chair. ""Wait! What? That was my shopping money! Marcus said it was legal bonus money!""
""Miss Chloe Vance,"" the second investigator said calmly, pulling out a second pair of cuffs. ""You are also under arrest as a named co-conspirator in an interstate money-laundering scheme. Evelyn Vance, you are being taken in for questioning regarding insurance fraud related to your late husband's estate filings in 2020.""
""No!"" Evelyn screamed, thrashing as a female officer grabbed her arms. ""You can't do this! It's Christmas Day! Marcus, fix this! You promised us a condo in Evanston!""
""Shut up, you stupid old witch!"" Marcus spat, turning on Evelyn with vicious hatred. ""You were the one who pushed to take Clara's house! You said she'd be too weak to fight back!""
""Quiet, all of you,"" the lead detective commanded, shoving Marcus out through the sliding doors into the blinding light of the police cruisers. ""Save your arguments for the federal magistrate. You won't be seeing daylight for at least fifteen years.""
Across the street, parked silently near the curb, a dark Mercedes sedan watched the spectacle. Inside, Dominic tapped his earpiece.
May you like
""Target secured, Boss,"" Dominic reported quietly. ""The arrests were executed smoothly. Marcus, the stepmother, and the stepsister will all be spending Christmas dinner in the federal holding wing.""
""Understood,"" Matteo’s voice answered over the line, crisp and composed. ""Proceed to the second phase.""
