Chapter 46 - A Seat at the Table
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The morning sun rose over the city, casting long, deceivingly peaceful shadows across the glass skyscrapers of the financial district.
I dropped Amy and Frederick off at a highly secure, heavily crowded luxury hotel under a fake name, paying for the room in cash. I instructed her not to leave the room, order room service, and keep the deadbolt locked until she heard my specific knock.
Julian and I drove to Evelyn’s prestigious law firm.
Evelyn was a partner at a firm that specialized in defending the untouchable elite. Her office was a sprawling monument to power, lined with rich mahogany, expensive modern art, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the harbor.
I didn't call ahead. I walked past her protesting receptionist and pushed the heavy glass doors of her private office open.
Evelyn was sitting behind her desk, sipping a green smoothie. She looked up, completely unfazed by my sudden, aggressive intrusion. She was impeccably dressed in a tailored white suit, not a single hair out of place.
"David," Evelyn smiled, a cold, calculating expression that sent shivers down my spine. "I was wondering when you would finally figure it out."
"Give me the keycard, Evelyn," I demanded, stepping entirely into the room. Julian closed the door behind us, standing perfectly still, blocking the exit.
Evelyn chuckled softly, setting her smoothie down.
"You always were too sentimental for this world, David," she mused, leaning back in her plush leather chair. "You genuinely believed you could outsmart the syndicate and just walk away to play house in the suburbs. Did you honestly think they would just let you keep a nuclear bomb in a vault without consequence?"
"You negotiated our immunity," I said, my voice vibrating with suppressed rage. "You swore to me that the deal was ironclad."
"The deal was ironclad with the Department of Justice," Evelyn corrected smoothly. "But the DOJ doesn't run the world, David. Marcus Thorne runs the world. And when he offered me a senior partnership and an eight-figure offshore account to simply keep tabs on you, I took the logical career advancement."
She opened her top desk drawer and casually pulled out a small, metallic silver keycard. She placed it squarely in the center of her pristine desk.
"Here is your keycard," Evelyn offered, a wicked smile playing on her lips. "But I highly doubt you're going to use it to open that vault."
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"Why not?" Julian growled, stepping forward.
"Because Marcus Thorne doesn't want to meet you at the bank, David," Evelyn said, her eyes gleaming with malicious intent. "He wants to meet you in person. He wants to look you in the eye when he takes his empire back."
