Chapter 7 - The District Attorney's Net
The atmosphere in the conservatory instantly transformed from warm intimacy back to absolute, icy tactical focus.
Dominic slowly withdrew his hand from Claire's, turning his dark eyes toward Marco. "Who is leading the grand jury?"
"Assistant DA Richard Vance," Marco reported, stepping closer to the glass table. "He's ambitious, looking for a career-making case before the upcoming judicial elections. He’s issuing subpoenas for all medical records from local emergency rooms in Philadelphia and Montgomery County from the night of the assault."
Claire felt her breath catch in her throat. "My name... if he checks the hospital records—"
"You weren't treated at a public hospital, Claire," Dominic said calmly, sitting up straight. "Dr. Evans set your arm here in this house using private equipment. There are no public hospital records, no insurance filings, and no ambulance reports."
"What about the security watchman in Bridgeport?" Claire asked, her mind racing back to the fictional scenario she had contemplated before coming to work. "I mean... what about Mason Pike's neighbors in South Philly? Someone must have seen his crew outside my mother's apartment that night!"
Marco answered quietly. "We swept the neighborhood, Miss Brennan. Carbone's men were careful. They cut the streetlights on your block before entering building 3C. There is no security footage of the alley."
"Then what does Vance actually have?" Dominic demanded, his voice dangerously low.
"A witness," Marco revealed grimly. "An anonymous tipster called Vance’s task force two hours ago. They claimed that Leo Carbone had a confrontation with a woman named Claire Brennan over a unpaid debt, and that within twelve hours of her showing up to work at your estate, Carbone and his entire crew stopped communicating."
Dominic’s eyes narrowed into sharp slits. "An anonymous tipster... Someone inside Carbone's fringe network who survived the sweep."
"Or someone who knew about the debt," Claire whispered, her face going completely pale.
Dominic looked at her instantly. "Your brother?"
"No," Claire shook her head firmly. "Danny is on a cargo ship heading out to international waters. He wouldn't call the police—he was terrified of Carbone!"
"It doesn't matter who called," Dominic stated flatly, standing up from his chair and buttoning his suit jacket. "A grand jury subpoena requires hard physical evidence or eye-witness testimony to stick. An anonymous phone call from a street criminal means nothing in a federal court."
He looked down at Claire, his voice reassuring and steady.
"Vance will try to press you, Claire. He will send investigators to question you. He will try to make you believe that you are in danger so you will testify against me."
Claire stood up from her chair, facing him squarely despite her plaster cast. "I won't say a word to them, Mr. Russo."
Dominic stepped closer to her, taking her left hand in his. "I know you won't, Claire. But I will not allow them to harass you or put you on a witness stand."
He turned to Marco. "Contact our legal team in Manhattan. Tell Edward Sterling to file an immediate emergency motion to quash any subpoenas directed at my domestic staff on the grounds of unlawful harassment. Then find out who made that anonymous call to the DA."
May you like
Dominic’s eyes flickered with a lethal glare.
"If someone in this city thinks they can use the law to force my housekeeper into a corner," Dominic whispered, "they are about to learn that the courts are far less dangerous than I am."
