Chapter 8 - The Grandview Hotel
The lobby of the Grandview Hotel smelled of expensive mahogany, imported jasmine, and quiet, untouchable wealth.
I walked through the revolving glass doors wearing a dark charcoal overcoat, my hands tucked deep into my pockets. I didn't look like an exhausted single father anymore; I looked like a man who had nothing left to lose and everything left to reclaim.
Sitting in a leather armchair near the elevator banks was Federal Special Agent Miller—not the local police sergeant from a few weeks ago, but a federal investigator with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern Illinois.
He stood up as I approached, extending his hand.
“Mr. Miller. Glad you made it,” Agent Miller said, his grip firm and professional. He handed me a single sheet of heavy cardstock paper attached to a clipboard. “Affidavit of co-conspirator financial fraud. Read it, sign at the bottom, and we go up.”
I didn't hesitate. I pulled a silver pen from my pocket, signed my name with sharp, deliberate strokes, and handed the clipboard back.
“Let’s go,” I said.
We took the private service elevator up to the fourteenth floor, bypassing the public corridors entirely. Two federal marshals in tactical vests were stationed quietly outside Suite 1402. They gave Agent Miller a curt nod.
Miller raised his hand, rapping three sharp, authoritative times against the heavy wooden door.
“Housekeeping,” Miller called out smoothly.
A moment later, the lock clicked, and the door swung open.
Vanessa stood in the doorway wearing a silk bathrobe, her hair wet from the shower, holding a champagne flute. The moment her eyes landed on me standing beside two federal agents in tactical gear, all the color drained instantly from her face.
She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
May you like
Agent Miller stepped past her, pushing the door wide open and flashing his badge. “Vanessa Miller. You are under arrest for interstate wire fraud, corporate embezzlement, and conspiracy to commit financial deception. Turn around and place your hands behind your back.”
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