Chapter 7 — Ghosts In The Financial Records
1806 Words
Seraphina remained frozen over the photograph.
Victor Vale.
Her uncle.
The man who had supposedly died before she was old enough to understand what had happened.
For years, she had accepted the story without question.
Victor had disappeared after a business dispute.
A few months later, the family had received confirmation of his death.
There had been no funeral she could remember.
No body.
No grave she had ever visited.
Her father had simply stopped mentioning him.
Seraphina had been too young to understand why.
Now she understood why that had always bothered her.
There had never been proof.
She slowly placed the photograph on the table.
Seraphina: “You said he was dead.”
Damian nodded.
Damian: “That's what every official record says.”
Seraphina: “But you don't believe it.”
Damian: “I didn't.”
Seraphina looked at him sharply.
Seraphina: “Then why didn't you tell me?”
Damian: “Because I had no evidence.”
Seraphina: “You had photographs.”
Damian: “Photographs aren't proof that someone is alive.”
Seraphina crossed her arms.
Seraphina: “Then what is?”
Damian looked at the image.
Damian: “A living person.”
Daniel suddenly spoke.
Daniel: “There is one thing.”
Everyone looked at him.
Daniel slowly stood.
He walked toward an old leather briefcase sitting near the wall.
He opened it and removed several documents.
Daniel: “Your father kept records of every major person connected to Vale Strategic.”
Seraphina walked toward him.
Daniel: “After Victor supposedly died, your father continued monitoring his financial activity.”
Seraphina's eyes widened.
Seraphina: “He knew Victor was alive?”
Daniel: “He suspected it.”
Daniel handed her a folder.
Inside were bank statements.
Seraphina looked through them.
The dates stretched across several years.
Then she noticed something.
A recurring transfer.
Small amounts.
Always sent from different accounts.
Always ending at the same destination.
Seraphina: “These transfers continued after Victor's supposed death.”
Daniel nodded.
Daniel: “Yes.”
Seraphina: “Who received them?”
Daniel pointed toward the final column.
Seraphina read the name.
Northstar Holdings.
She frowned.
Seraphina: “I've never heard of this company.”
Daniel: “Neither had most people.”
Seraphina: “What does it own?”
Daniel shook his head.
Daniel: “Nothing publicly.”
Seraphina looked at Damian.
Seraphina: “A shell company.”
Damian nodded.
Damian: “Probably.”
Seraphina turned back to the documents.
Seraphina: “How much money moved through it?”
Daniel hesitated.
Daniel: “Enough to buy several companies.”
Seraphina's expression hardened.
This wasn't just about her inheritance.
It wasn't even just about her father's company.
Someone had been building something in the shadows for years.
And her family had been part of it.
Whether willingly or not.
Maya entered the room carrying her laptop.
Maya: “I found something.”
Seraphina looked up.
Seraphina: “What?”
Maya placed the laptop on the table.
A corporate database was open.
Maya: “Northstar Holdings was registered under three different names.”
Seraphina studied the screen.
Maya: “Every time investigators got close, the company was dissolved and recreated.”
Damian leaned over the laptop.
Damian: “Who signed the original registration?”
Maya clicked through several pages.
Maya: “That's the strange part.”
She enlarged a document.
Maya: “There is no individual listed.”
Seraphina frowned.
Seraphina: “That's impossible.”
Maya: “Not if someone used a nominee.”
Damian nodded.
Damian: “Someone who doesn't actually control the company.”
Seraphina looked at the registration date.
Then her expression changed.
Seraphina: “Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
She pointed at the date.
Seraphina: “This company was created before my father's death.”
Daniel nodded.
Daniel: “Yes.”
Seraphina looked at another document.
Seraphina: “And this one was created before Victor supposedly died.”
Damian's eyes narrowed.
Seraphina's mind raced.
Seraphina: “What if Victor didn't disappear because of a business dispute?”
Nobody answered.
Seraphina: “What if his disappearance was part of the plan?”
Daniel looked frightened.
Daniel: “Your father thought the same thing.”
Seraphina turned toward him.
Seraphina: “Why didn't he tell me?”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
Daniel: “Because he was trying to protect you.”
Seraphina laughed bitterly.
Seraphina: “Everyone keeps saying that.”
She stepped away.
Seraphina: “My father protected me by keeping me ignorant.”
She looked at Damian.
Seraphina: “You protected me by turning me into someone else.”
Then she looked at Daniel.
Seraphina: “And you protected me by disappearing.”
She shook her head.
Seraphina: “Everyone decided what was best for me.”
Her voice became quieter.
Seraphina: “Nobody asked what I wanted.”
The room fell silent.
Damian watched her carefully.
Then he spoke.
Damian: “What do you want?”
Seraphina looked at him.
The question was simple.
But for the first time, nobody was telling her what she should do.
She answered honestly.
Seraphina: “The truth.”
Damian nodded.
Damian: “Then we'll find it.”
Seraphina studied him.
Seraphina: “Together?”
Damian held her gaze.
Damian: “If you want.”
She looked away.
Seraphina: “I'm not promising to trust you.”
Damian: “I didn't ask you to.”
A strange silence passed between them.
Not uncomfortable.
Just different.
For once, Damian wasn't trying to control the situation.
He was giving her a choice.
Seraphina appreciated that more than she wanted to admit.
That evening, Seraphina returned to her room.
She placed the photograph of Victor on her desk.
Then she opened her laptop.
She searched every database available to her.
Victor Vale.
Nothing.
She tried variations of his name.
Nothing.
She searched old news archives.
Still nothing.
Then she remembered something.
Her father had once taken her to a private bank.
She had been sixteen.
He had told her that some things were safer outside ordinary accounts.
At the time, she hadn't understood.
Now she remembered the number written on the key.
317.
Seraphina opened the folder from her father's letter.
The key was still there.
She turned it over.
There was a tiny engraving on the back.
A-19.
She immediately called Maya.
Seraphina: “I need you to find a bank.”
Maya: “Which one?”
Seraphina: “I don't know yet.”
Maya: “That's helpful.”
Seraphina smiled.
Seraphina: “Look for private vault facilities connected to Vale Strategic Investments.”
Maya paused.
Maya: “I'll search.”
A few minutes later, Maya called back.
Maya: “I found something.”
Seraphina sat up.
Maya: “Your father had a private vault at Blackwood Trust.”
Seraphina's eyes widened.
Seraphina: “Does it still exist?”
Maya: “Yes.”
Seraphina: “And the vault?”
Maya: “Still active.”
Seraphina's heart began pounding.
Seraphina: “Who has access?”
Maya was silent.
Maya: “That's the problem.”
Seraphina: “What?”
Maya: “There are two authorized signatures.”
Seraphina waited.
Maya: “Your father's…”
She paused.
Maya: “…and Victor Vale's.”
Seraphina stared at the phone.
For years, everyone had believed Victor was dead.
Yet her father's private vault still recognized him as an authorized person.
Someone had never closed his access.
Someone had kept it active.
And suddenly Seraphina understood why her father had left the key behind.
He hadn't wanted her to find money.
He had wanted her to find evidence.
The next morning, Seraphina arrived at Blackwood Trust with Maya.
Damian was waiting outside.
Seraphina looked at him.
Seraphina: “How did you know?”
Damian: “You weren't exactly subtle.”
Seraphina: “I didn't tell you.”
Damian: “You didn't have to.”
Seraphina sighed.
Seraphina: “You're impossible.”
Damian smiled faintly.
Damian: “I've heard that.”
They entered the private bank.
A security officer led them through several locked doors until they reached a private office.
The bank manager stood to greet them.
He was an older man with silver hair and a serious expression.
His eyes immediately settled on Seraphina.
Manager: “Ms. Quinn.”
Seraphina nodded.
Seraphina: “I'm here about Vault 317.”
The manager's expression changed.
Manager: “That vault hasn't been accessed in several years.”
Seraphina: “I know.”
She placed the key on his desk.
The manager stared at it.
Then at Seraphina.
Manager: “Who gave you this?”
Seraphina didn't answer.
Manager: “Ms. Quinn, I need authorization.”
She placed another document on the desk.
Her father's signature.
The manager examined it carefully.
Then he looked at her again.
Manager: “You look remarkably like him.”
Seraphina's expression tightened.
Seraphina: “Open the vault.”
The manager hesitated.
Manager: “There is one issue.”
Seraphina: “What?”
He lowered his voice.
Manager: “The vault was accessed six months ago.”
Seraphina froze.
Seraphina: “By whom?”
The manager looked at the records.
Manager: “The second authorized signer.”
Seraphina's heart began pounding.
Seraphina: “Victor Vale?”
The manager nodded.
Manager: “Yes.”
Silence.
Seraphina looked at Damian.
His expression was unreadable.
Seraphina: “What did he take?”
The manager shook his head.
Manager: “I can't tell you.”
Seraphina stepped closer.
Seraphina: “You can.”
The manager looked uncomfortable.
Manager: “Because he didn't take anything.”
Seraphina frowned.
Seraphina: “Then why did he access it?”
The manager slowly looked at her.
Manager: “He left something.”
Seraphina's breath caught.
Seraphina: “What?”
The manager opened a drawer.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
Her name was written across it.
Not Sera Quinn.
Not Ms. Quinn.
Seraphina Vale.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
The manager handed it to her.
Seraphina stared at the envelope.
Then she opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
She looked at it.
Her blood ran cold.
It showed Victor Vale standing beside Adrian Laurent.
But the photograph wasn't recent.
It had been taken years earlier.
And standing behind them was another person.
A person Seraphina knew very well.
Her father's most trusted adviser.
The man who had handled the family's legal affairs for decades.
Seraphina whispered his name.
Seraphina: “Charles Whitmore.”
Damian immediately took the photograph.
His expression changed.
Damian: “We need to leave.”
Seraphina looked at him.
Seraphina: “Why?”
Damian turned the photograph over.
There was a message written on the back.
Only six words.
THE TRAITOR IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.
Seraphina stared at the message.
Then she looked at Damian.
For the first time, she wondered whether the enemy had been watching her from much closer than she ever imagined.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD