CHAPTER 2: THE AFTERMATH
Grace walked out of the ballroom with her head held high.
Her uniform was ruined. Her shift was over. And she was almost certainly going to be fired.
But she didn't regret it.
She found a small bench in the staff hallway and sat down, her hands still trembling. The adrenaline was fading, leaving behind a cold, creeping fear.
She had just confronted Vivian Whitmore.
Vivian Whitmore was one of the most powerful women in Chicago. Her husband owned half the city. Her family had connections everywhere.
Grace was nobody.
She was a waitress who lived in a tiny apartment, barely making rent, with no savings and no safety net.
"What have I done?" she whispered.
"You saved my mother's dignity."
Grace looked up.
A man was standing in front of her. Tall, dark, dressed in an immaculate black suit. His eyes were cold, but his voice was surprisingly gentle.
"I'm sorry?" Grace said.
"You defended my mother. Margaret DeLuca."
Grace's eyes widened. "The woman in the wheelchair?"
"Yes."
"Is she okay?"
"She is fine. Thanks to you."
Grace shook her head. "I just did what anyone would do."
"No," Dominic said. "You did what very few people would do. You stood up to a woman who could destroy your life, and you didn't hesitate."
Grace looked away.
"Maybe I should have hesitated."
"Perhaps. But you didn't. And that's why I'm here."
"Here for what?"
Dominic reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. It was plain white, with only a phone number printed on it.
"If you ever need anything," he said, "call that number. Anything at all."
Grace stared at the card. "I don't understand."
"You will."
He turned and walked away.
Grace sat there, holding the card, her mind spinning.
She had just been given a business card by Dominic DeLuca.
The Dominic DeLuca.
The man who ran Chicago's underworld.
The man who had never been seen helping anyone.
May you like
The man who was rumored to have made people disappear for far less than what Vivian had done.
"What have I gotten myself into?" she whispered.
