Chapter 10 - The Unseen Observer
Three weeks passed in a rare, fragile peace. The Vale Foundation’s new community art center broke ground downtown, with local news channels praising Dominic and me as Chicago’s premier power couple—a narrative carefully crafted by Dominic’s public relations team to bury any remaining rumors of syndicate ties.
Yet, deep within the subterranean levels of the Chicago Police Department’s internal affairs division, someone was watching.
Detective Arthur Vance—no relation to Marcus—slapped a heavy manila folder onto his partner’s desk. The folder was stamped with classified red ink: *OPERATION CLEAN SWEEP - FILE #884-VALE*.
"I'm telling you, Miller, Julian Sterling didn't just snap and blow up that estate two years ago," Detective Vance said, pacing the narrow, fluorescent-lit bull pen. "And Victor Mercer didn't just vanish into thin air on a shipping freighter by coincidence. Dominic Vale is cleaning house, but someone else is helping him from the inside. Someone with deep ties to the old Mercer network."
Miller, an older detective chewing on the end of an unlit cigar, looked up from his computer screen. "You've got no jurisdiction, Artie. The Vales own half the judges in Cook County. If you poke that bear, you won't just lose your badge; you'll end up floating in the Chicago River."
"Not if we have an inside source," Arthur smiled grimly, sliding a second, smaller envelope across the desk. Inside was a crisp, high-resolution photograph taken from a rooftop across from the Lake Michigan estate.
It showed me standing on the glass balcony, laughing as Dominic handed me a glass of wine, while Audrey played near our feet.
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"Meet Claire Mercer," Arthur whispered. "The innocent little waitress from Indiana. I ran her DNA against an old cold-case database from her father's estate. She isn't who she says she is. And she's about to bring Dominic Vale down—whether she wants to or not."
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