Chapter 4 - The Ally in the DarkBy midnight, Julian had driven me to a secure high-rise apartment on the North Side of Chicago. It was owned by an independent private intelligence firm that worked outside the reach of the city's corrupt police commissioner.
"You can't stay here long," Julian warned, placing a glass of water and a clean sweatshirt on the counter for me. "Daniel Whitmore uses a private security firm called Apex. They have facial recognition tracking all over the city. It won't take them long to trace my vehicle."
"Then we strike first," I said, pulling the oversized sweatshirt over my shoulders. "We release the files on that drive to the media."
Julian shook his head. "If you drop those files online, the Whitmores will spend millions hiring PR firms to call them fakes. They'll buy off judges, suppress the news, and hunt you down in the shadows. We need to hit them where they can't hide."
"Where is that?"
"The Whitmore Foundation Annual Gala," Julian answered, a faint smile touching his lips. "It’s in forty-eight hours. The entire city elite will be there—board members, federal judges, news anchors, and major investors. Margaret is planning to use the event to introduce Daniel as the sole executive controller of the empire."
I stared at him, understanding his plan. "We crash the party."
"Not crash it," Julian corrected. "You take your rightful place."
Before we could discuss the details, the apartment’s security monitor chimed. A live feed showed a sleek black SUV pulling up to the curb outside the building. Two men in dark suits stepped out, holding short-barreled silenced pistols.
"Apex," Julian hissed, grabbing his briefcase. "They tracked us faster than I thought!"
"Where’s the back exit?" I asked, grabbing the laptop and securing the USB drive around my neck on a sturdy silver chain.
"Fire escape down the hall. Go!"
We sprinted through the quiet residential hallway as the heavy heavy footsteps echoed up the stairwell behind us. Just as we reached the iron door leading to the fire escape, the lock on the main entrance exploded with a loud bang.
"Freeze!" a voice barked.
Julian shoved me through the fire escape door into the pouring rain. "Run, Emily! I'll slow them down!"
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"Julian, no!" I yelled, but he slammed the heavy iron door shut from the inside, locking it tight. A second later, muffled gunshots echoed through the thick metal door.
I bit my lip, forcing back a scream, and scrambled down the slick iron stairs into the dark alley below.
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