He's her enemy. Her obsession. And the only man who has the power to destroy her.
▫️▫️▫️
My name is Frank Monroe, and I am the most dangerous woman in Chicago. Not because I kill, but because I make it legal. I'm the lawyer the Irish mob calls when...
"It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning."
- Seamus Heaney
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I leaned back in my chair and watched Gia work. She was the best cybersecurity expert I'd ever brought in, and her fingers moved across the keyboard with a speed that bordered on unsettling. Her focus was absolute. She didn't waste breath on small talk, which I valued more than most men could understand. Efficiency mattered.
"So, tell me you have good news," I said.
"I have news," she replied, her eyes lifting from the screen to meet mine. "I'm not sure you'll call it good, but it's interesting."
I raised a brow, giving her the signal to continue.
"We located the source of the video," she said. "It wasn't a leak from outside. The footage came directly from surveillance cameras hidden inside Daniel's penthouse."
I sat forward, my jaw tightening. "Inside his own place? You're certain?"
She nodded. "The room layout, the timestamps, the angles. Everything matches. Whoever installed them knew exactly what they were doing, and the equipment they used was designed to avoid detection."
I could almost see Sergei Ivanov's hand in it, because no one else had motive enough to strike at my family this way.
"Tell me you traced the cameras," I pressed. "Serial numbers, brands, anything at all."
Gia's expression hardened, and she shook her head. "That's where it gets complicated. I located the models and cross-referenced them, but whoever arranged this made sure every detail was untraceable. The systems were wiped clean. No distributor, no purchase history. For all I know, the devices were custom-built."
"Custom-built," I repeated slowly, turning the thought over in my mind. Sergei had both the resources and the contacts to make that possible. "That requires more than money. It takes precision, reach, and someone who knows the trade inside and out."
"Exactly," she confirmed. "I don't say this lightly. Whoever engineered this is no amateur. They're a professional of the highest level. A genius, if you want it plain."
I leaned back and crossed my arms, considering every angle. Someone had gone to the trouble of planting custom surveillance in Daniel's home, bypassed all security measures, and still had the skill to cover their tracks so cleanly that nothing pointed back. That was more than bold. That was a declaration.
"Perfect," I muttered, dragging a hand over my jaw. It wasn't the answer I wanted, though by now I expected little else. "So we have no trail."
"Not yet," she said with a slight shrug, though her eyes carried a spark of determination. "But I'll keep digging. I'm working on decrypting several encrypted files we pulled from Daniel's system. If there's any clue to find, I'll get it."
