20:15 – Michael's Office
The silence in the office was louder than the storm outside. Michael looked at the handcuffs on his desk. The cold glint of the metal reminded him of how his father had used his badge to silence the world.
Natalia didn't take her hand off her holster. "Answer me, Michael. Why did Leo Cross call you? And why were you haunting that bridge like a ghost?"
Michael leaned back. No fear. No panic. Just a deep, calculated exhaustion. As a psychologist, he knew the best lie was one wrapped in a sliver of truth.
"Leo Cross was a patient, Natalia," Michael said, his voice smooth as silk. "Off the books. Pro-bono work for troubled youths. He reached out because he was terrified. He said the 'old ghosts' were waking up."
Natalia narrowed her eyes. "Why keep it secret?"
"Because Leo was being watched. He told me he was being summoned to Dawson Bridge. I went there to save him, but I was too late." Michael stood up and walked to the window. "Did you see the key in his hand? That key opens a door my father locked fifteen years ago. Luca's return isn't a coincidence. Someone is trying to set this city on fire, and I'm not the one holding the match."
***
22:00 – Little Italy, Luca's Headquarters
Luca sat in a leather chair, staring at an old photo of his brother Vince. "The boy who killed my brother got away because of his father's badge," Luca whispered.
A woman—a nurse from Michael's clinic—trembled as she handed him a file. "I have the records, Mr. D'Angelo."
Luca didn't look at her. "I want everything. His habits, his patients, his weaknesses. I won't just kill Michael Hale. I will strip away everything he owns, just as he stripped the honor from my family."
***
23:30 – Chicago River Walk
Michael had convinced Natalia—for now. She saw him as a witness, not a suspect. But the real war was in the shadows.
A black van pulled up under the bridge. Michael stepped inside. Journalist Ivy was waiting, her face pale in the glow of a tablet.
"I lost three informants getting this, Hale," Ivy said. "A secret bank account belonging to your father. Monthly payments made to one name: Asher Burke."
Michael scrolled through the screen. The payments started on December 25, 2010. The day after the murder. "My father was paying him for silence?"
"No," Ivy whispered. "Not for silence. For *supervision*. Asher Burke isn't a blackmailer, Michael. He's an architect. He writes the scripts for the city's sins. And your father agreed to let you be a character in that script in exchange for your freedom."
A sharp knock on the van window made them jump. A hooded figure dropped an envelope through the slot and vanished into the rain.
Michael opened it. Inside was a single cinema ticket.
Date: Tomorrow.
Movie: *Shadows of the Past.* Seat: 15-B.
On the back, a handwritten note:
"Luca wants to bury you, Michael. I want to recreate you. Choice is yours. Die a victim, or rule with me. – A."