Chapter 3 - The Billionaire Who Discovered His Family Had Been Lying to Him
Jack spent the night searching.
Grace stayed awake in his apartment.
She refused to sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the report.
Poisoned.
Murdered.
Her mother had been murdered.
At sunrise, Jack came into the living room.
“You need coffee.”
Grace looked at him.
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
He paused.
“Whatever you drink.”
“That is not helpful.”
“I don't drink much coffee.”
“Of course you don't.”
A faint smile appeared.
For the first time, Grace saw how young he looked without the armor.
“How old were you when your mother left?”
“Sixteen.”
“That must have been terrible.”
“It was.”
“What did your father tell you?”
“That she abandoned us.”
Grace looked away.
“Maybe she didn't.”
Jack sat beside her.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“Maybe someone made her disappear.”
Jack nodded.
“I know.”
They examined the data key.
It contained one encrypted file.
The password was a date.
Grace entered her mother's birthday.
Wrong.
Her death date.
Wrong.
Jack tried his mother's birthday.
Wrong.
Then Grace remembered something.
Her mother had always celebrated one day every year.
Not her birthday.
Not her anniversary.
The day Grace had been born.
She entered the date.
The file opened.
Inside was a video.
Evelyn Whitmore appeared on screen.
Grace's heart shattered.
“Grace, if you're watching this, I'm probably dead.”
Grace covered her mouth.
Jack sat perfectly still.
Evelyn continued.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
“I never wanted you involved.”
“The Remington family is not what you think.”
“Jack's father is not the man people believe him to be.”
Grace looked at Jack.
He didn't move.
Evelyn continued.
“There is a ledger.”
“Your mother—”
Jack stopped.
Grace whispered:
“What?”
The video continued.
“The ledger contains every illegal transaction.”
“Every bribe.”
“Every payment.”
“Every person who helped them.”
“And one name.”
“Jack's.”
Jack's face went pale.
Grace stared.
Evelyn continued.
“Jack does not know.”
“He must never be blamed.”
“He is innocent.”
Grace looked at Jack.
He was staring at the screen.
His mother had known.
His father had hidden everything.
And Evelyn had been protecting him.
Then the recording ended.
A second file appeared.
A photograph.
It showed Jack's father.
Evelyn.
And another man.
Marcus Hale.
Grace stared.
“That isn't your security chief.”
Jack shook his head.
“No.”
“But the name is the same.”
“It's my father's brother.”
Grace whispered:
“Your uncle?”
Jack nodded.
He had always believed his uncle Marcus died in a boating accident when Jack was twenty.
Apparently, he hadn't.
Someone had been impersonating him.
Someone had been inside Jack's organization.
Someone had access to everything.
Then Grace noticed another file.
PROJECT NIGHTINGALE.
She opened it.
It contained medical records.
Thousands.
Patients.
Payments.
Hospitals.
Private clinics.
Children.
Grace's training came back to her.
Nursing school.
Patient records.
The patterns were obvious.
This wasn't just financial crime.
It was an illegal medical trafficking operation.
Her mother had discovered it.
Then tried to expose it.
Jack whispered:
“They killed her.”
Grace nodded.
“Yes.”
“And you have the evidence.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her.
“Then you are in more danger than you realize.”
She laughed bitterly.
“I noticed.”
Jack reached toward her.
This time, she let him touch her hand.
“I won't let them hurt you.”
Grace looked at him.
“You don't get to promise that.”
“Why?”
“Because you can't control everything.”
“No.”
He squeezed her fingers.
“But I can try.”
That morning, another message arrived.
THE LEDGER IS UNDER THE RESTAURANT.
Jack stood.
“We're going to Valencia.”
Grace looked at him.
“You think the ledger is there?”
“Yes.”
“What if it's a trap?”
“It is.”
She swallowed.
“Then why go?”
Jack looked at her.
May you like
“Because I think your mother left it there for you.”
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