Chapter 4 - Shadows in the City
Two weeks after the court hearing, Alex and I set up a temporary makeshift headquarters in my apartment. We were editing a new documentary series, but our primary focus was protecting Sophia and keeping track of Marcus’s increasingly erratic movements.
The state attorney’s office had launched a formal criminal grand jury investigation. Detectives were digging through Marcus’s corporate finances, questioning former employees, and unearthing a dark trail of intimidation and hush-money settlements tied to his consulting firm.
Yet, Marcus remained dangerously free on bond, represented by a legal team working around the clock to find loopholes.
One evening around 9:00 PM, Alex looked up from his dual-monitor editing station, frowning.
“Michael, look at this,” Alex said, spinning his chair around.
I walked over. On the screen was a security camera feed from my building’s alleyway garage entrance. A dark, unmarked sedan had been parked across the street for nearly three hours. Every time a car passed, the driver flicked off their headlights.
“That’s not a delivery truck,” I muttered, my stomach tightening.
“No,” Alex agreed grimly. “That’s private surveillance. Your brother is having you watched.”
I grabbed my coat. “Stay here. I’m going to take a walk and see who’s paying for front-row seats.”
I slipped out the side exit of the apartment building, keeping to the shadows of the brick alleyway. The winter wind whipped snow across the pavement, stinging my cheeks. I looped around the block, approaching the dark sedan from behind where the driver wouldn't spot me in their side mirrors.
As I drew closer, I could see the silhouette of a heavy-set man leaning back in the driver’s seat, illuminated by the faint glow of a smartphone screen.
I tapped firmly on the driver’s side window.
The man jumped, nearly spilling his coffee, and whipped his head around. When he saw me standing outside in the snow staring directly at him, his face paled. He rolled the window down a crack.
“Can I help you, pal?” he grunted, trying to sound tough.
“You can tell whoever hired you that staring at brick walls gets boring after three hours,” I said evenly, leaning down so he could see my face clearly. “Tell Marcus that if he wants to talk to me, he can call my lawyer instead of sending third-rate P.I.s who don't even know how to park in a snowbank.”
The investigator stared at me for a second, realized he had been completely compromised, threw the car into reverse with squealing tires, and sped away down the icy street.
I pulled out my phone and called Sarah Lin immediately.
“Sarah, Marcus has P.I.s staking out my apartment,” I reported.
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“Noted,” Sarah replied calmly. “It violates his pre-trial release conditions if he’s using surveillance to intimidate witnesses. I’m filing an emergency motion for a contempt hearing tomorrow morning. Keep your doors locked, Michael. Don't go anywhere alone.”
Little did we know, Marcus wasn't just targeting me. He was orchestrating a desperate, high-stakes move to bypass the legal system entirely.
