The freezing temperatures continued, making Arthur’s utility bills impossible to pay. His legal counsel, a young attorney referred by Eleanor, threatened to withdraw from lack of funds. Arthur leaned heavily on his long-time friend, retired Municipal Court Judge Samuel O’Reilly.
Samuel, a man with a steady gaze and a deliberate pace, filed an emergency pro bono stay on the eviction proceedings. “We buy time, Arthur,” he told me, “that’s all we can do for now.”
Late that night, a soft knock came from the kitchen door, not the front. Chloe Danvers slipped inside, a stack of papers clutched in her gloved hand. Her face was flushed from the cold, but her eyes gleamed with purpose.
“Look at this,” she whispered, spreading the documents across the kitchen table.
They were public registry filings. Buried deep within them, Chloe had uncovered a $220,000 payment made to appraiser Marcus Gable.
“A gift for his ‘impartial’ assessment?” Arthur muttered, his jaw tight.
“It gets better,” Chloe said, pointing to the originating entity. “The payment came from a Delaware shell company: Apex Horizon LLC.”
Arthur traced the words. “Delaware? Why so many layers?”
“For anonymity,” Chloe explained. “But they made a mistake.” She showed him another page. “The corporate registration address for Apex Horizon LLC?”
Arthur leaned in. The address listed was identical to Senator Harrison Croft’s campaign treasurer headquarters.
“Harrison’s wife, Rebecca Croft, is the treasurer,” Chloe added, her voice dropping lower. “It’s all connected, Alderman. This isn’t just about your home for a public project.”
Arthur stared at the evidence, a cold dread twisting in his gut. “He’s laundering money. Using my home, this entire block, to build his private $14 million commercial headquarters for his gubernatorial run.”
“It looks that way,” Chloe confirmed, gathering her papers. “This is big, Arthur. Bigger than just one brownstone.”
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