Vanessa stopped pacing. Something in her father's tone disturbed her deeply. "Dad, what exactly happened Friday night at the bar? " The lawyers exchanged uncomfortable glances. Richard waved them away dismissively. "Give us privacy. " After they left, Vanessa confronted her father directly.
"You knew Malcolm was withdrawing his investment before I even saw him at the bar, didn't you? " Richard studied his daughter carefully. "What makes you think that? " because hotel security told me executives held emergency meetings Friday afternoon hours before I humiliated him publicly. Richard's expression remained neutral, but Vanessa knew that look. He was calculating how much truth to reveal. We suspected Reed might cause problems, Richard admitted slowly.
His withdrawal timing seemed suspicious. You wanted me to provoke him. Vanessa's voice grew horrified as understanding dawned. You knew I would lose control and embarrass him publicly. Vanessa, you manipulated me.
She slammed her palm against his desk. You used my worst impulses as part of some corporate strategy. Richard stood and moved toward her. Everything I do protects this family. By turning me into your weapon.
Vanessa backed away from him. By letting me destroy my own reputation while you stayed clean. For the first time in her life, Vanessa realized her father had never protected her. He had only used her recklessness when it served his purposes. "You're upset," Richard said calmly.
"Go home and rest. Let me handle. " "Handle what? More lies? " Vanessa grabbed her purse and headed for the door. "I won't be your puppet anymore. " She stormed out, leaving Richard alone with his schemes. That afternoon, Malcolm's phone rang with an unknown local number.
He hesitated before answering. "Malcolm, it's Elellena. " Her voice sounded strained and frightened. "Ellena, where are you? I've been worried. I can't talk long.
Someone inside Halberg security tried to silence me permanently after I copied those files. " Malcolm gripped the phone tighter. What do you mean silence you? Two men broke into my apartment while I was there. I barely escaped through the fire escape. Elena's words came quickly, but I hid backup evidence on an encrypted external server before disappearing.
Everything we need to prove their corruption. Where are you now? Safe. But we need to meet tonight. I have information that will destroy them completely.
Malcolm looked at Jordan, who was listening intently. Where? The abandoned rail station beneath Millennium Park. 11 p.m. Come alone and watch for surveillance.
The line went dead. Jordan frowned. It could be a trap. Malcolm stared at the silent phone. Elellena had risked everything to help him.
Now she was hiding for her life because of his fight against the Hellbergs. Maybe. But she's the only person who can prove we're telling the truth. Malcolm agreed to meet Elellena secretly that night beneath the abandoned rail station outside downtown Chicago. The abandoned rail station beneath Millennium Park felt like a tomb.
Heavy trains thundered overhead every few minutes, shaking dust from the cracked concrete ceiling. Malcolm pressed his back against a rusted support beam and checked his watch. 11:15 p.m. Elellanena was late. His phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
Platform 3. Stay in shadows. Malcolm moved deeper into the darkness, stepping carefully around broken glass and discarded equipment. The air smelled of diesel fumes and decay. Water dripped somewhere in the distance.
Malcolm. He turned toward the whisper. Elena emerged from behind a concrete pillar, her face pale and exhausted. She wore a dark hoodie and carried a worn backpack. "Are you hurt? " Malcolm asked.
"Scared, but alive? " Elena glanced nervously toward the tunnel entrance. "We don't have much time. Those men are still looking for me. " She pulled a small external drive from her backpack. Everything's on here. Financial fraud, offshore accounts, executive bribes.
But it's worse than you know. Malcolm took the drive. How much worse? Remember I told you about an employee who disappeared after threatening legal action. Elena's voice trembled.
His name was David Martinez, hotel maintenance supervisor. He discovered executives were skimming money from employee pension funds. A train roared overhead, drowning out her words momentarily. "What happened to him? " Malcolm asked when the noise faded. They destroyed his reputation first, planted drugs in his locker, got him arrested on false charges, fired him publicly.
Elellena wiped tears from her eyes. David couldn't find work anywhere, lost his apartment, started drinking heavily. Malcolm felt cold dread settling in his stomach. Three months later, police found David's body in the Chicago River. Suicide, they said, "But I found internal emails celebrating his problem being solved permanently. " Malcolm stared at her in horror.
They drove him to kill himself. Richard personally authorized the frame up. Vanessa laughed about it in executive meetings. Elena's voice hardened with anger. They murdered him just as surely as if they'd pulled a trigger.
The weight of responsibility crashed over Malcolm. This wasn't just about corporate corruption anymore. People had died because of Halberg greed and cruelty. There's more, Elena continued. Racist communications between executives.
They called employees animals, joked about keeping certain types out of customer areas. Richard used racial slurs in recorded board meetings. Before Malcolm could respond, bright headlights swept across the tunnel entrance. Car doors slammed in the distance. "They found us," Elena whispered.
Malcolm grabbed her arm. "Is there another way out? " "Maintenance tunnels. This way," they ran deeper into the abandoned station as footsteps echoed behind them. Elena led Malcolm through a narrow doorway into a service corridor lined with pipes and electrical cables. There, a voice shouted.
Platform 3. Malcolm pulled out his phone and called Jordan. Copy the files now. Elena's server password is David Martinez. Got it, Jordan replied.
Stay on the line. They crawled through a lowmaintenance tunnel as the footsteps grew louder. Elena's breathing was sharp and panicked. Malcolm tried to stay calm, but his heart pounded like a drum. Light suddenly flooded the tunnel behind them.
Heavy boots splashed through puddles. "Stop running," a man yelled. "We just want to talk. " They reached a vertical shaft with a rusty ladder leading upward. Elena climbed first while Malcolm stayed below, watching the tunnel entrance. A security guard rounded the corner, flashlight in one hand and something metallic in the other.
Found you, the man growled. Malcolm recognized him from the hotel. Big, mean-l looking, with dead eyes. The guard lunged forward. Malcolm dodged sideways and grabbed a length of broken pipe from the tunnel floor.