Chapter15
362 Words
CHAPTER 15 — THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE
The official records indicated that Richard Vale had died twelve years earlier.
A private plane crash.
No survivors.
No body recovered.
Clara looked at Alexander.
“That is convenient.”
“Very.”
They began digging.
Within hours, inconsistencies emerged.
The plane had been registered to a company that no longer existed.
The pilot’s identity was false.
The insurance policy had been canceled forty-eight hours before the crash.
And the passenger manifest had been altered.
Alexander leaned back.
“Richard Vale did not die.”
Marcus stared at the evidence.
“Then where has he been?”
A new document appeared on Alexander’s screen.
A recent financial transaction.
A payment of five hundred thousand dollars.
Recipient:
R. VALE CONSULTING.
Clara’s blood turned cold.
“That is impossible.”
Alexander nodded.
“Which means someone wants us to believe he is still dead.”
Then the office lights went out.
The security alarm began screaming.
A single message appeared on every computer screen.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STOPPED AT JULIAN.
Clara stared at the words.
Then another line appeared.
NOW YOU WILL LEARN WHO REALLY OWNS THE MONEY.
The next morning, federal investigators raided three offices connected to the Vance Family Foundation.
They found hidden servers, encrypted drives, and millions of dollars in undeclared assets.
But there was no Richard Vale.
No physical evidence.
No fingerprints.
Nothing.
Then Alexander found something buried inside the server logs.
A recurring login time.
2:17 a.m.
Clara stared at the screen.
“That number again.”
Alexander nodded.
“Your mother’s safe combination.”
“And the calls.”
“Exactly.”
Marcus looked between them.
“Someone is deliberately using that number.”
Clara’s expression hardened.
“Then it means something.”
Alexander opened the oldest encrypted file.
A password prompt appeared.
Clara typed:
MARGARET.
Access denied.
She tried her mother’s birthday.
Denied.
Her father’s birthday.
Denied.
Then she remembered the photograph.
October fourteenth.
She typed:
1014.
The file opened.
Inside was one sentence.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, I AM ALREADY DEAD.
Clara’s hands began shaking.
The next line appeared.
BUT THE MAN WHO KILLED ME IS NOT.
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