Chapter 3 - THE UNDERGROUND SANCTUARY
Rescued from the rain-slicked street by Judge Robert Vance—a retired federal magistrate and lifelong friend of Grace’s late father—Grace was brought to a secure, unassuming brownstone tucked away in Chicago’s historic Lincoln Park neighborhood. Judge Vance wrapped her in warm blankets, while his housekeeper prepared hot ginger tea and attended to her scraped hands.
"Derek has underestimated you completely, Grace," Judge Vance said gravely, setting a cup of tea on the mahogany table. "He believes that locking you out of the penthouse and seizing your assets leaves you legally defenseless. But he forgets who your grandfather was." Grace looked up, her tears drying as a fierce, protective resolve took hold. Her grandfather had been Arthur Sterling, a legal titan whose industrial estate and trust holdings dwarfed Derek’s newly acquired corporate wealth. With Judge Vance’s guidance, Grace opened her coat, extracted the waterproof drive, and plugged it into a secure terminal. The battle for her daughter's future had officially begun.
