Chapter 2 - The Grand Meridian Raid
The Grand Meridian Hotel was one of Chicago's most exclusive luxury towers, boasting marble lobbies, velvet drapes, and a rooftop bar overlooking the frozen skyline of Lake Michigan. It was also where my mother and sister were currently sipping vintage champagne and charging designer shopping sprees to the corporate-linked debit card I had foolishly trusted them with.
Emily and I sat in the back of a heated black SUV parked across the street, our son sleeping peacefully in a portable bassinet beside us. Emily had finally stopped shivering after drinking hot tea from a thermos I brought from the airport lounge, but her eyes still held the haunted look of someone who had endured psychological torture.
'Are you sure about this, Ethan?' Emily asked softly, her fingers gripping my sleeve. 'Your mother... she'll make you out to be the villain. She always does.'
'Let her try,' I replied, watching the hotel entrance through the tinted window. 'For four months, she told you I didn't care. She isolated you, starved you, and stripped your home bare while you were healing from major surgery. That isn't family, Emily. That's a predator.'
Just then, two marked Chicago Police cruisers pulled up silently to the grand entrance. Four officers stepped out, accompanied by hotel security. I watched through my encrypted tablet feed as the officers entered the lobby and headed straight for the elevator bank leading to the penthouse suite.
'They're going up,' I murmured.
Emily leaned forward, her breath fogging the glass. 'What if they deny it? What if they say we gave them permission?'
'They can try explaining that to a judge while holding shopping bags filled with thousand-dollar designer clothes bought with medical emergency funds,' I said coldly.
Inside suite 1402, Diane and Claire were living their best life. The penthouse suite cost over twelve hundred dollars a night. On our security camera logs from earlier, I had watched them order room service consisting of caviar, truffles, and imported champagne, laughing about how easily they had manipulated the system.
Through my tablet, which mirrored the smart lock access logs I remotely accessed, I watched the police officers approach room 1402. One officer knocked firmly on the heavy oak door.
'Hotel security, open the door please,' the officer's voice echoed through the hallway intercom.
Inside the suite, the music stopped. My mother's sharp voice rang out through the door speaker. 'Hang on! We're dressing! Tell room service to leave the dessert outside!'
'Police department, open the door immediately,' the officer replied, his tone shifting from polite inquiry to authoritative command.
Silence fell over the suite. Then came the sound of heels clicking frantically across hardwood floors, followed by Claire's panicked whisper carrying through the door seam: 'Mom, it's the cops! How did they find us?'
'Quiet, you idiot!' Diane hissed back. 'Open it calmly. They can't touch us; Ethan is our son and brother. Everything we took is family property!'
The door unlocked and swung open. Diane stood there wrapped in a silk robe, glass of champagne in hand, wearing an expression of supreme annoyance that instantly morphed into absolute terror when she saw the badges.
'Can I help you officers?' Diane stammered, forcing a rigid smile. 'There must be some mistake. We are respected citizens—'
'Diane Vance and Claire Vance?' the lead officer interrupted, stepping past her into the lavish suite. 'You are both under arrest for grand larceny, financial fraud, and domestic endangerment.'
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'Arrest?!' Claire shrieked, stumbling out of the bedroom wearing a designer dress still bearing price tags. 'You can't arrest us! Do you know who my brother is? He's Ethan Vance! He makes six figures! He gave us this money!'
'Actually,' I said, speaking softly as I pushed open the SUV door across the street and stepped out into the freezing night air, tapping my earpiece to connect directly to the officer's comms, 'Ethan Vance is watching live, and he never gave you a damn dime of permission.'
