CHAPTER 7: The Unseen Witness
Grace emerged through a storm grate near Pioneer Square into the pre-dawn mist. Her clothes were damp and streaked with soot, but her mind was entirely focused. She walked into an early-morning commuter cafe, bought a prepaid burner phone with cash, and dialed a number etched into her memory.
It wasn't the police. It was Elena Ramos, the chief anchor for the state’s most respected public investigative syndicate—a journalist Clara had revered.
"Elena Ramos speaking."
"My name is Grace Vance," she said clearly. "My sister was Clara Sterling."
A sharp intake of breath came across the line. "Grace? The police issued a missing persons advisory on you two hours ago. They’re claiming you're suffering from a severe psychiatric episode and could be dangerous."
"It's a cover story orchestrated by Deputy Commissioner Vance and my husband," Grace replied without missing a beat. "I have sixty gigabytes of unredacted ledgers, audio confessions of an attempted poisoning, and the encryption keys to the Vanguard accounts. I need two hours to secure the physical assets. Will you broadcast it if I bring you the truth?"
There was a five-second pause. When Elena spoke, her professional facade cracked into fierce conviction. "If you have the paper trail to prove Marcus Vance is dirty, I will air it live on the ten o’clock regional feed. But Grace... you are walking into an ambush. Marcus has tactical units stationed across the financial district."
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"Let them watch," Grace said. "They're looking for a victim. They aren't expecting a witness."
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