Chapter 16 - The Uninvited Guest
The summer heat settled heavily over Chicago by July, baking the asphalt and filling the lakefront parks with the hum of cicadas and weekend picnickers. My life had settled into a rhythm so peaceful and predictable that it sometimes felt like I was living in someone else’s biography.
I was working from my home office on a Friday afternoon, cross-referencing a state-wide compliance audit report on emergency room triage protocols, when my intercom buzzed.
The front desk clerk’s voice crackled through the speaker. “Mrs. Miller? There’s a gentleman downstairs in the lobby asking for you. He says his name is Julian Vance.”
I paused, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. Vance. Director Vance’s younger brother, who had worked as the hospital’s senior legal counsel before his brother’s retirement.
“Did he state his business?” I asked, my voice calm and measured.
“He mentioned it was a personal matter regarding a mutual acquaintance—Dr. Marcus Hayes. He said he’d appreciate ten minutes of your time.”
I tapped my pen against the edge of the desk. Curiosity, sharp and clinical, overrode my initial impulse to tell the front desk to turn him away.
“Send him up, Frank.”
Ten minutes later, the doorbell to my apartment chimed. When I opened it, Julian Vance stood in the hallway. He looked older than I remembered, his silver-threaded hair slightly disheveled, carrying a slim leather briefcase under his arm.
May you like
“Clara,” he said politely, dipping his head. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
“Make it quick, Julian,” I replied, stepping back and holding the door open just enough for him to enter. “And let’s be clear: whatever happened to Marcus has nothing to do with me anymore.”
