Chapter 8 - DOWNTOWN CONFRONTATION
The autumn wind blew hard against the glass facade of The Grandview Luxury Apartments in downtown Chicago.
I drove my old military-issue pickup truck, leaving the pristine Denali sitting in Margaret's driveway. I parked right in front of the building's valet station, ignoring the attendant's protest as I stepped out, carrying a heavy black leather folder under my arm.
Paige lived on the twelfth floor.
I didn't bother using the intercom. I walked past the concierge desk with an intensity that made the young receptionist shrink back into her chair, stepping straight into the elevator and pressing floor 12.
When I reached apartment 1204, I stood outside the heavy walnut door. I could hear loud pop music and laughter drifting through the wood.
I raised my boot and kicked the door right next to the deadbolt frame.
BOOM!
The lock shattered, the door bursting open and slamming hard against the interior drywall.
Inside, the apartment was a penthouse loft filled with designer furniture, rack upon rack of expensive clothes, and marble countertops covered in empty champagne bottles. Paige was standing near the couch wearing a silk kimono, dropping her glass in horror as I stepped through the ruined doorway.
Sitting on the couch next to her was a sleek-looking man in an expensive suit—Dr. Richard Harrison.
"What the hell?!" Harrison shouted, jumping up from the couch. "Who do you think you are breaking in here—"
Before he could finish his sentence, I closed the distance between us in two strides, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him against the wall. The framed artwork rattled against the drywall.
"You're Dr. Harrison," I said, my thumb pressing lightly against his carotid artery. "The man who prescribed 'rest' while my wife was locked in a closet."
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"Let... let him go, David!" Paige screamed, scrambling across the floor. "You're crazy! Call the police!"
"Go ahead, Paige," I said, not taking my eyes off the suffocating doctor. "Call them. Tell them your military brother is here while his legal team is currently seizing your bank accounts and handing the FBI your wire transfer logs."
