Chapter 3 - THE SECOND DANIEL CARTER Daniel didn't sleep.
Lily stayed beside him most of the night.
Noah slept on a mattress at the foot of the bed.
Every time the house made a sound, Noah opened his eyes.
Every time headlights crossed the windows, Daniel did the same.
At eight the next morning, Rebecca arrived carrying three folders.
"We have a bigger problem."
Daniel almost laughed.
"Bigger than my missing sister having a fake death certificate?"
"Forty-two million dollars bigger."
She opened the first folder.
During the previous year, Carter Strategic Holdings had authorized nine major transactions using Daniel's executive credentials.
Daniel recognized six.
He didn't recognize three.
The total:
$42 million.
Destination:
companies connected to Hale Medical Ventures.
"Marcus."
Rebecca nodded.
"The signatures are digitally valid."
"I didn't sign them."
"We believe someone cloned your corporate authentication certificate."
Daniel walked toward the window.
Vanessa had access to his home computer.
Marcus had access to corporate systems.
Together, it was possible.
Then Rebecca showed him security footage.
Saint Gabriel Private Medical Center.
The night Claire disappeared.
11:42 p.m.
Claire walked into the underground parking garage.
Alive.
Uninjured.
Alone.
Two hours later, a private ambulance exited through the rear gate.
Its registration belonged to a medical transportation company partially owned by Marcus Hale.
"What happened inside?"
"Saint Gabriel says Claire was never admitted."
Daniel looked at the fake death certificate.
"So according to one document, she died there."
"Correct."
"But according to the hospital, she was never there."
"Correct."
Daniel whispered:
"Somebody created whatever version of Claire they needed."
Rebecca didn't answer.
Vanessa finally agreed to an interview.
Daniel watched from another room.
She admitted she knew about the fake certificate.
She claimed Marcus told her Claire had been injured during a confrontation.
"He said we had to protect the company."
Rebecca stared at her.
"And you believed him?"
Vanessa looked down.
"He had leverage."
"What kind?"
Corporate expenses.
Secret transfers.
Almost one million dollars Vanessa had misappropriated.
Marcus discovered it.
Instead of exposing her, he recruited her.
First, signatures.
Then passwords.
Then access.
Rebecca asked:
"The messages from Claire?"
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"Some were me."
Daniel stood up so violently his chair fell backward.
He walked out.
Thirteen months.
He had read Vanessa's words believing they came from his sister.
I'm safe.
Don't look for me.
I need time.
Every sentence had been a lie designed specifically for him.
Rebecca found him in the hallway.
"There's more."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"Of course there is."
Vanessa had revealed the location of the second phone registered under Daniel's identity.
Behind a wooden panel inside his study.
They found it plugged into a hidden charger.
Corporate authentication software was installed.
Remote access logs pointed to Marcus.
Daniel stared at the device.
Then it vibrated.
A new message appeared.
Unknown sender.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE CLAIRE IS, DON'T TRUST VANESSA.
Rebecca immediately started tracing it.
Daniel typed:
WHO ARE YOU?
Three dots appeared.
Then:
ASK NOAH WHAT HE SAW THE NIGHT CLAIRE DISAPPEARED.
Daniel's blood went cold.
Because Noah had never told anyone he had been awake that night.
Daniel slowly turned toward the hallway.
His eight-year-old son was sitting on the floor, holding Lily.
May you like
And suddenly Daniel understood.
The smallest person in the house might have been carrying the biggest secret.
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