Chapter 18
Saturday night descended over the city like a heavy velvet curtain, smothering the towering skyscrapers in neon and shadows. Inside the subterranean parking garage beneath Sinclair Tower, the concrete air was thick with the scent of exhaust fumes and damp pavement.
A sleek black sedan pulled silently into reserved space 14-B, directly beneath the private elevator shaft that led straight up to Richard's penthouse suite. The engine cut out, and the headlights flickered dark.
The rear door opened, and Caroline stepped out. She wore a tailored black trench coat over a dark turtleneck, her hair pulled back into a tight braid. In her right hand, she carried a battered leather briefcase identical to the one Marcus Vance used—except this briefcase didn't contain federal indictments. It contained a direct uplink router connected to the federal prosecutor's secure server.
She didn't wait for an escort. She walked straight toward the private elevator bank, swiping a high-security override card—borrowed from a compromised security terminal earlier that afternoon—against the digital scanner. The heavy steel doors slid open with a soft chime.
She stepped inside, pressing the button for the penthouse level.
Up on the fiftieth floor, the elevator chime echoed through the silent, dimly lit executive suite. Richard Sinclair was sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, nursing a glass of scotch while looking out at the glittering expanse of the city lights below. Viktor Vance stood near the doorway, his hand resting inside his jacket.
The mahogany doors of the private elevator slid open.
Caroline stepped out into the penthouse suite, her black leather heels clicking rhythmically against the Persian rug. She didn't look like a terrified survivor or a cornered victim. She walked with the absolute, unshakeable poise of an executioner stepping onto the scaffold.
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Richard turned his chair slowly to face her. A slow, triumphant smile spread across his face as he raised his glass in a mock salute.
"Welcome, Caroline," Richard said smoothly, his voice echoing off the vaulted glass ceilings. "I wondered when you'd finally decide to knock on the front door."
