Chapter 7 - Richard Vale
Richard Vale had vanished three years before my father's death.
He had reportedly moved overseas.
Sold his property.
Closed his accounts.
Disappeared.
But the evidence showed something very different.
He had been operating through shell companies.
He had financed Grant's business.
He had paid Vanessa.
He had purchased information on Ellie.
He had even funded the private investigators who had built the custody case against me.
Grant was not the architect.
He was the weapon.
That realization changed everything.
I asked Evelyn how far Vale's network went.
She looked at me.
“Far enough to reach people in your own family.”
I felt a chill.
“Who?”
She refused to answer.
That evening, we received an encrypted message.
A file appeared on the Kingsley server.
No sender.
No signature.
Inside was a single sentence.
Stop searching for Richard Vale.
Then another message appeared.
He is already inside.
The lights in the house flickered.
Security rushed into the room.
Someone had attempted to access the internal systems.
The attack lasted eleven seconds.
Then it stopped.
I stared at the screen.
Eleven seconds.
Exactly long enough to prove someone could enter.
Exactly short enough to avoid detection.
I called Arthur.
His voice sounded tense.
“Mara, don't trust the server.”
“What?”
“Disconnect everything.”
I did.
Then he said,
“We need to talk in person.”
“Where?”
“The old library.”
“Why?”
“Because I think we've been looking in the wrong direction.”
He hung up.
I looked at Evelyn.
She was already standing.
“What?”
She whispered,
“Someone you trust is helping Grant.”
My stomach twisted.
“Who?”
She looked at the door.
May you like
“Arthur.”
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