Chapter 4 - The Boss's Shield
At 7:15 PM, the heavy oak door of Sebastian’s basement office swung open, and Detective Rachel Miller of the Chicago Police Department’s Special Investigations Division stepped down the stairs, accompanied by two federal agents in dark overcoats.
Detective Miller was a veteran investigator with sharp brown eyes, short cropped hair, and an attitude that signaled she had zero tolerance for wealthy criminals. She spent twenty minutes reviewing the security footage, examining Veronica Hale’s confiscated cell phone, and taking my formal statement.
“The phone logs on Veronica Hale’s device are a goldmine, Mr. Calder,” Detective Miller said, placing a clear evidence bag containing the manager's phone onto Sebastian's desk. “She received sixteen encrypted calls today from a private burner number registered to Sterling Financial Group. We’ve already traced three wire transfers totaling thirty thousand dollars sent to her personal offshore account over the last forty-eight hours.”
“That establishes bribery, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and corporate sabotage,” Sebastian noted calmly.
“It does,” Miller agreed. “We have enough to keep Veronica Hale in a cell until her trial. But Victoria Sterling and Arthur Vance are a different story. Vance slipped out through the alley camera’s blind spot before my officers arrived. And Victoria Sterling has three teams of defense attorneys who will claim Veronica acted independently to extort the Sterling family.”
I felt the cold knot of panic return to my stomach. “So Victoria gets away with it?”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Sebastian said smoothly, pulling a leather bound binder from his desk drawer. “Detective, I want you to meet my head of corporate litigation.”
The door opened again, and a tall, silver-haired woman in a dark pinstripe suit stepped into the office, carrying a leather briefcase.
“This is Eleanor Vance,” Sebastian introduced her. “No relation to Arthur Vance, I assure you. Eleanor is a former federal prosecutor and senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis.”
Eleanor offered me a warm, reassuring smile before placing her briefcase on the mahogany desk. “Good evening, Maya. Mr. Calder briefed me on the situation an hour ago. We have already taken preemptive legal action.”
“What kind of action?” I asked.
“At 6:45 PM,” Eleanor explained, pulling a stamped document from her briefcase, “we filed an emergency ex parte motion with Chief Judge Montgomery at the Cook County Circuit Court. We secured an immediate, temporary restraining order against Victoria Sterling, Julian Sterling, Arthur Vance, and any agent representing Sterling Financial Group. They are legally prohibited from coming within one thousand feet of you or Lily.”
“Can they contest it?” I asked.
“They can try,” Eleanor smiled grimly. “But we also filed a formal petition establishing Sebastian Calder as your legal corporate sponsor and co-trustee of an emergency protective trust set up in Lily’s name. Under this structure, any attempt by the Sterling family to initiate custody proceedings will be met by a forty-million-dollar defense fund managed directly by Mr. Calder’s firm.”
I looked at Sebastian in utter disbelief. “A forty-million-dollar defense fund?”
“It’s a message, Maya,” Sebastian said quietly, taking a seat beside me. “It tells Victoria Sterling that if she wants a legal war, she isn't fighting a defenseless waitress. She is fighting me. And I have deeper pockets and far less patience than she does.”
Detective Miller chuckled softly. “That should buy us time to locate Arthur Vance. But Maya, you can't go back to your apartment above the laundromat tonight. The Sterlings know where you live, and until Vance is in handcuffs, that building isn't safe.”
“I have nowhere else to go,” I said, my voice barely audible. “Mrs. Ortiz is in the hospital, and I don't have family in Illinois.”
Sebastian stood up, pulling his charcoal suit jacket back on and buttoning it cleanly at his waist.
“You’re staying with me,” Sebastian said simply.
I blinked, looking up at him. “What?”
“I own a duplex penthouse on Lake Shore Drive,” Sebastian said, picking up my tote bag and slinging it effortlessly over his shoulder. “It has twenty-four-hour private security, keycard elevator access, a full medical staff on call, and four guest suites. You and Lily will stay there until this threat is completely neutralized.”
“Mr. Calder, I can’t accept that—”
“It’s not a request, Maya,” Sebastian said, his tone softening just enough that I could hear the deep warmth beneath his authoritative exterior. “You’re exhausted, your baby needs a clean crib, and I am not letting you out of my sight until I know you are safe.”
He held out his hand to help me up from the velvet armchair. I looked down at his long, strong fingers, then up at his gray eyes. For the first time in eighteen months, the suffocating weight of being completely alone in the world evaporated.
I placed my hand in his. His grip was warm, solid, and entirely unwavering.
May you like
“Thank you, Sebastian,” I whispered.
A rare, beautiful smile touched the corners of his lips. “Come on, Maya. Let’s take your daughter home.”
