Chapter 3 - SHADOWS OF THE UNDERWORLD
The breakfast arrived on a silver cart, wheeled in by a nervous-looking attendant who quickly vanished under Elliot’s intense glare. The spread was a feast fit for a king, but Maddie stared at it with suspicion.
“Eat,” Elliot commanded gently.
“You said I had to work,” Maddie reminded him, stubbornly crossing her arms over the now-sleeping baby.
Elliot sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Your job is to make sure none of that bacon goes to waste. It’s an executive order. If you don’t eat it, you’re fired.”
A tiny, almost imperceptible ghost of a smile touched Maddie’s lips. She laid Rosie down carefully on the plush cushions, barricaded her with a thick wool throw, and attacked the food. She ate like a starved wolf, shoving eggs and toast into her mouth with a desperate frenzy. Elliot watched, feeling that familiar, suffocating grip on his chest. It was the echo of his own childhood, the hollow ache of true hunger.
While she ate, Elliot stepped into his private study and locked the glass door. He picked up his secure phone and dialed a number that wasn't in any corporate directory.
“Marcus,” Elliot said when the line clicked open. Marcus was his head of security, a former intelligence operative who handled problems money couldn't solve conventionally. “I have a situation.”
“I’m listening, boss.”
“I need a discreet background trace on a woman, last name Carr. Mother of two girls, one seven, one an infant. She vanished three days ago. And Marcus… Victor Silas might be involved.”
There was a heavy pause on the line. “Silas? Elliot, if Silas has his hooks in her, this isn’t a corporate merger. The man is a butcher. He owns half the docks and three judges. Why are we looking into him?”
“Because her daughters are currently sleeping on my $10,000 sofa,” Elliot said, his voice turning to ice. “Find the mother. Alive.”
“And if she’s not?”
“Then find out who is responsible, so I can ruin them.”
Elliot hung up. He looked through the glass wall of his study. Maddie had finished eating and was sitting guard next to her sister, her exhausted eyes fighting the heavy pull of sleep. She was fighting a war no child should have to fight.
When Elliot stepped back into the room, Maddie sat up straight.
“My mom is in trouble, isn’t she?” she asked quietly.
Elliot didn't believe in lying to children. The world had already been honest with her in the worst ways. “Yes, Maddie. I think she is. But I am going to help her.”
“Why?” Maddie asked, her eyes narrowing. “You don’t know us.”
“Because,” Elliot said, looking at the city below, “a long time ago, I needed someone to help me, and no one did. I don't let things like that happen in my city anymore.”
Suddenly, the private elevator chimed. The doors slid open, and a man stepped out. It wasn't Marcus. It was David, Elliot’s Chief Operating Officer, looking flustered and angry.
“Elliot, what the hell is going on?” David snapped, storming into the room. “You canceled the board pre-meeting. The stock is taking a hit because rumors are flying that you’ve lost your mind over some street urchin in the lobby—”
May you like
David stopped, finally noticing the two children. He sneered. “Are you running a daycare now? Get these kids to a shelter. We have a multi-billion dollar acquisition to—”
“David,” Elliot interrupted, his voice dropping to a terrifying, deadly whisper. “If you speak about them like that again, I will personally throw you through that plate-glass window.”
