Chapter 6 - The Judge's Fall
By 3:00 AM, the storm clouds over downtown Chicago had broken, letting a pale, cold moonlight wash over the imposing neoclassical facade of the Cook County Courthouse.
An unmarked black sedan pulled silently into the subterranean judicial parking garage, flanked by two Marchetti security SUVs.
Inside the sedan sat Enzo Marchetti and Adeline Croft.
Judge Richard Ashford’s emergency chambers were located on the sixth floor. Under normal circumstances, entering a federal judge’s chambers at three in the morning required a SWAT team and a federal warrant. Under Marchetti circumstances, it required a keycard obtained from a terrified syndicate-linked bailiff and absolute, unyielding momentum.
The elevator dinged softly as it reached the sixth floor.
The doors slid open to reveal a deserted, dimly lit hallway. Two private security guards hired by Judge Ashford stood outside the heavy double doors of his chambers, but as soon as they saw Derek Shaw and the two towering enforcers stepping out of the elevator behind Enzo, their hands instinctively moved away from their holsters.
They knew who Enzo Marchetti was. And more importantly, they knew what happened to men who stood in his way.
"Step aside," Derek ordered coldly.
The guards didn't hesitate. They backed against the wall, dropping their weapons onto the carpeted floor.
Enzo pushed open the heavy mahogany doors of Judge Ashford’s private chambers.
Inside, sitting behind a massive mahogany desk lit by a single banker’s lamp, was Judge Richard Ashford himself. His silver hair was disheveled, his judicial robes unbuttoned at the collar, and a glass of scotch trembled in his aged hand.
When the door opened, Ashford looked up, expecting his private security detail. Instead, he saw Enzo Marchetti walking into his sanctuary, followed by a young woman wearing a maid’s uniform beneath a high-end designer coat.
Ashford’s eyes widened in horror as he recognized Adeline.
"You..." Ashford whispered, his voice cracking. "You're supposed to be—"
"Dead? Disappeared? Buried under a fake audit?" Adeline finished for him, walking forward until she stood directly in front of his massive desk. She reached into her pocket, pulled out the small flash drive, and dropped it onto the polished wood with a sharp clack.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ashford demanded, trying to summon the booming judicial authority that had terrorized lawyers for decades. "Marchetti, breaking and entering into a federal judge’s chambers is an act of war! I’ll have every dock you own seized by dawn!"
Enzo walked slowly behind Adeline, resting his hands casually in his trouser pockets, his dark eyes radiating pure, unadulterated menace.
"Your daughter tried to poison a US Senator with a synthetic paralytic at my engagement party twelve hours ago, Richard," Enzo said, his voice smooth as glass. "Your tactical team just tried to launch an armed assault on my private residence. And right now, this young woman is holding every single digital receipt of your thirty-year embezzlement ring on that little plastic stick."
Ashford’s face turned the color of spoiled milk. He gripped the edge of his desk so hard his knuckles turned white.
"It’s forged," Ashford snarled desperately. "It’s all fabricated!"
"Is it?" Adeline asked softly. She leaned forward, resting her palms on the desk, looking the man dead in the eye. "Shall I open the file titled Ashford_Shell_Corp_1998? Or perhaps the one detailing how you sabotaged my father’s brakes on the Dan Ryan Expressway?"
The judge collapsed back into his leather chair, all the fight evaporating from his body in a single, shivering second. He looked old, frail, and utterly defeated.
"What do you want?" Ashford whispered.
May you like
"Everything," Enzo answered for her. "Your resignation by sunrise. A full public confession broadcast to every media outlet in the state. And your complete surrender of every asset illegally seized from the Croft family estate."
Ashford looked from Enzo to Adeline, realizing there was no escape. The shadow had caught up with him.
