Chapter 2 - The Courthouse Steps
The muggy Chicago air hit my face as I pushed through the heavy courthouse doors. I had barely made it down the first flight of concrete steps when a hand grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back hard.
"You think you won, you psycho bitch?" Caleb snarled, his breath smelling of stale coffee and pure panic. He was still wearing that ridiculous tactical vest over his cheap button-down.
My reaction was muscle memory. I didn't think; I just moved. In less than a second, I stepped into his space, clamped my left hand over his wrist, and twisted it sharply while driving my right elbow directly into his sternum. The breath left his lungs in a violent whoosh. He collapsed to his knees on the hard concrete, clutching his chest, his eyes bulging.
"Don't ever touch me," I whispered, kneeling down so my voice was for his ears only.
Silas was rushing down the steps toward us, his face pale. "What did you do to him? I'll call the police!"
"Call them," I said evenly, looking Silas dead in the eye. Then I turned my attention back to Caleb, who was gasping for air. "By the way, Caleb. Aegis Security? The embezzlement of sixty thousand dollars from their equipment fund? I have the digital trail. Every deleted email. Every offshore transfer."
Caleb’s eyes widened in sheer terror. His bravado vanished entirely.
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"If you or your father ever come within fifty feet of me, or the brownstone, I hit 'send' to the CEO of Aegis, and to the federal authorities. You won't just be a disgraced rent-a-cop. You'll be a felon."
I stood up, smoothed out my charcoal skirt, and walked away, leaving my father and brother trembling on the courthouse steps. The shadow of my past was finally working for me.
