Chapter 18 - The Last Phantom of Marcus Vance
Two weeks had passed since the trial,
and winter had settled heavily over Illinois,
blanketing the grounds of the Oak Park estate in pristine white snow.
The mansion had been completely transformed.
Security guards no longer walked the hallways with visible automatic rifles;
instead,
the estate felt like a true home,
filled with warmth,
music,
and the aroma of Sarah's home cooking.
Yet,
late at night,
I could not sleep.
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of my study,
staring into the dark forest along the property edge.
Dominic walked into the room without knocking,
his expression darker than I had seen in weeks.
"Boss,"
Dominic said softly,
closing the heavy door behind him.
"Our cleanup crew at the slaughterhouse site found something during the riverbed dredging today."
"What did they find?"
I asked,
turning around,
my eyes narrowing.
"Marcus Vance didn't die in the tunnel collapse,"
Dominic revealed,
placing a sealed evidence bag on my mahogany desk.
Inside was a waterlogged leather wallet containing Vance's private passport,
along with a discarded medical emergency tracker.
"He crawled out through a secondary drainage outlet into the river,"
Dominic continued.
"He's been hiding in an abandoned hunting lodge near Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin.
And according to our intelligence sources,
he has assembled a small squad of foreign mercenaries for one final suicide attack."
"He wants revenge,"
I said calmly,
the blood in my veins turning to absolute ice.
"He lost his empire,
his brother,
his power,
and his money.
He has nothing left to lose."
"Should I take a heavy tactical squad to Wisconsin and neutralize him?"
Dominic asked,
his hand resting on his firearm grip.
"No,"
I replied firmly,
walking over to the wall safe and entering the combination.
I pulled out my customized Sig Sauer,
checking the weighted balance of the frame.
"Vance stole a year of my life.
He put my son in a cage.
He forced Emily to starve on the street.
I will end Marcus Vance with my own hands."
"Boss,
it could be a trap,"
Dominic warned.
"Then let him set his trap,"
I said,
stepping out toward the underground garage.
May you like
"Because tonight,
the hunter becomes the executioner."
