Chapter 6 - MY DEAD FATHER'S ACCOUNT WAS STILL ACTIVE
The forensic team found E.S.-17 in less than twenty minutes.
It wasn’t a bank account.
It was an authorization profile.
Created fifteen years earlier.
Owner:
Michael Sterling.
Status:
Inactive.
Except it wasn’t.
Someone had reactivated it seven years ago.
Two years after my father’s death.
Using biometric verification.
I stared at the report.
“That’s impossible.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Yes.”
“Whose biometric?”
“System only says verified.”
“How?”
“Older platform. Voice plus hardware token.”
“Dad’s token?”
“Missing.”
My mother sat completely still.
I looked at her.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
But she sounded frightened in a way that suggested she had feared something similar.
“Mom.”
“After Michael died, there were strange things.”
“What things?”
“Emails.”
“From his account?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“They were probably scheduled.”
“Probably?”
“One arrived eighteen months later.”
The room went quiet.
“What did it say?”
She remembered every word.
DO NOT LET AUDREY SIGN MERIDIAN AWAY.
I stared.
“Did I ever see it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I thought someone was manipulating me.”
Maybe someone was.
“Any others?”
“Three.”
“What did they say?”
“Watch Daniel Carver.”
That one landed.
Dad had warned her about Daniel after he was dead.
“Who sent them?”
“We never knew.”
Rebecca asked:
“Were the headers preserved?”
“Yes.”
Mom had saved everything offline.
Within an hour, IT confirmed the messages originated from different international servers.
Not enough to identify a sender.
But one attachment contained metadata.
Zurich.
The same city Daniel was trying to reach.
Then Chloe called again.
This time she was whispering.
“I don’t have long.”
“Where are you?”
“Parking garage.”
“Daniel?”
“Looking for me.”
“Get somewhere public.”
“I’m trying.”
“What did Thomas Reed tell you?”
“That Michael Sterling discovered someone inside the company had been diverting assets.”
“My father knew?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Thomas never told me.”
“Why?”
“He said he needed proof first.”
A car door slammed near Chloe.
She stopped.
“Chloe?”
Silence.
Then:
“He’s here.”
“Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“Call police.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel has copies of documents that make it look like I stole the money.”
Of course.
Daniel had built multiple scapegoats.
Me.
Chloe.
Possibly my mother.
“Send me your location.”
“I already did.”
My phone buzzed.
A pin.
Downtown Chicago.
Ten minutes from Sterling headquarters.
I sent security and called police.
Then Chloe whispered:
“Audrey, there’s something you need to understand.”
“What?”
“Daniel didn’t marry you for Sterling Global.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then why?”
“For your father.”
I almost snapped.
“My father was dead when we married.”
“That’s the point.”
The line cut out.
Police reached the garage first.
They found Chloe’s phone smashed beside an elevator.
No Chloe.
No Daniel.
Security footage showed Chloe entering.
Daniel following four minutes later.
Then a third person entered.
Older man.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
Rebecca zoomed in.
My mother made a sound behind me.
Not a word.
A gasp.
I turned.
“You know him?”
She stared at the screen.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Thomas Reed.”
My father’s supposedly dead assistant.
The footage continued.
Thomas approached Daniel.
The two men spoke.
Then Daniel handed him something.
Not forcefully.
Willingly.
They were not enemies.
They were partners.
And the final frame showed Thomas looking directly into the camera.
May you like
He smiled.
Then lifted one finger to his lips.
