Chapter 02: Beneath the Surface
The morning fog lingered over the city like a heavy curtain, shrouding the towering buildings of Greystone in a muted haze. Mason sat in his car outside Fox’s penthouse building, the engine turned off and the parking brake engaged. He stared at the building’s entrance, his fingers drumming lightly on the steering wheel as he processed everything he’d observed the night before.
Adrian Fox was more than just a wealthy businessman—he was a man wrapped in layers of lies, each one more intricate than the last. Mason had spent hours on the streets, watching, waiting for the smallest clue to surface. There was something about Fox’s life that didn’t add up, something beneath the surface that Mason couldn’t quite piece together.
The woman who had accompanied Fox to the restaurant kept popping into his mind. Mason had seen enough to know that people like her didn’t just appear in the orbit of men like Fox by accident. She had been too calm, too collected, and yet something about her felt dangerous, as though she knew more than she was letting on.
He had barely slept, but sleep wasn’t what he needed now. Answers were.
His phone buzzed, breaking the silence. It was a text message from his contact at the Greystone Police Department, a low-level officer named Sean who still owed Mason a few favors. Mason unlocked his phone and opened the message.
Fox’s company just acquired a huge real estate deal downtown. Some local politicians involved. Strange timing, considering the murder from last week. Could be nothing, but you might want to look into it.
Mason’s eyes narrowed. A real estate deal? It didn’t take much to connect the dots in a city like Greystone. The real estate market was cutthroat, and deals like this often had a way of making people disappear—or worse. The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence, especially when Mason had already found a link between Fox and one of the murder victims from last week. A former business associate, someone who had apparently fallen out of favor with Fox’s inner circle.
Mason sent a quick reply: I’m on it. Keep your ears open.
He put the phone down and glanced at the building again. The fog had lifted just enough for him to see the soft gleam of glass reflecting the pale morning light. Fox’s penthouse was at the top of the building, an expensive view for an expensive man. But the higher you climbed, the farther you fell.
It was time to get to work. Mason had already begun his investigation, but now, with this new lead, he needed to dig deeper into Fox’s recent activities. Real estate deals, connections with politicians—it all pointed to something bigger, a network of corruption that reached into the very core of the city.
Mason stepped out of the car and slipped into the crowd, blending in as he moved toward the building’s entrance. He had no intention of going inside today. Not yet. But he needed to know what Fox was up to. The first step was getting close enough to see what he was hiding.
Inside the building’s lobby, Mason made his way to the security desk, casually pretending to fumble with his phone. The security guard barely glanced up at him, focused instead on the television monitor in front of him. Mason’s eyes flicked to the wall behind the desk, where a small security badge scanner was installed. There were cameras all around, watching, waiting.
He approached the desk, flashing a grin at the guard, who barely acknowledged his presence.
“Morning,” Mason said, his voice smooth, his demeanor calm. “I’m meeting a friend here. Can you let me know if Adrian Fox is around today?”
The guard looked at him, his expression blank. “Fox? Sorry, don’t know him.”
Mason nodded and stepped back, his thoughts racing. The guard’s indifference was telling. It wasn’t uncommon for people in high-profile positions to have their presence concealed—Fox wouldn’t be the first to have a building full of employees trained to keep his movements a secret. Still, Mason didn’t let the guard’s denial deter him. It was just another dead-end, one more clue in a case that was starting to feel like a labyrinth.
Mason walked past the security desk and toward the elevators. He had no intention of getting caught snooping around in a building like this. His goal was simple: keep an eye on Fox’s comings and goings, and if something interesting happened—like Fox leaving for a meeting or heading out of town—Mason would be there to follow.
He checked his watch and turned back toward the lobby. That was when he saw it: a sleek black car pulling up outside the building. Fox’s car.
Mason’s heart rate quickened as he adjusted his position, moving closer to the exit doors, positioning himself out of sight.
Fox had arrived.
Adrian Fox stepped out of the car with his usual air of confidence, adjusting the cuffs of his tailored shirt as he made his way into the building. Mason studied him closely, watching how Fox moved, how he interacted with the people around him. Everything about him screamed control. But control was an illusion. Everyone had weaknesses, and Mason was determined to find Fox’s.
Fox’s movements were deliberate, as if he knew every step he took was being watched. It wasn’t just the bodyguards in the lobby that made him wary; it was the sense that Fox was playing a dangerous game. There was no such thing as an innocent man in Greystone, and Mason had seen enough to know that the ones who came out on top often had blood on their hands.
Mason pulled out his phone, pretending to check a text as he watched Fox enter the elevator. The doors closed, and Mason stepped toward the exit.
But as he turned to leave, something caught his eye—a shadow, fleeting in the corner of the lobby. Someone was watching him.
Mason froze. He had been careful. He had blended in. But someone had noticed him. The question was, who?
He quickly scanned the room, but there was nothing. Just the usual mix of office workers, security, and a few tenants coming and going. No one seemed out of place.
Still, Mason couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been watching him too.
As he walked out into the cold morning air, he realized one thing: the deeper he dug into Adrian Fox’s life, the more dangerous this case was becoming.
Fox’s web of lies was starting to pull tighter. And Mason had just walked straight into the middle of it.
