Chapter 5 - The Brother They Tried to Silence
Clarina's phone rang at 6:12 a.m.
The number was the hospital.
She answered immediately.
"Toby?"
A nurse spoke quickly.
"Your brother is safe, but there was an incident."
Clarina stood.
"What happened?"
"Someone attempted to access his medical records using false identification."
Her stomach dropped.
"Did they reach him?"
"No."
Christian was already reaching for his coat.
"We're going."
Clarina grabbed her bag.
She expected Christian to make decisions without her.
Instead, he asked, "Do you want my car?"
She stared at him.
"No."
"Then what?"
"I want my brother."
They drove.
The hospital was in chaos.
Security had been increased.
Toby sat in his room, pale but smiling.
When he saw Clarina, his face brightened.
"You came."
"Of course."
He looked over her shoulder.
"Is that the billionaire?"
Christian raised an eyebrow.
"I apparently have a reputation."
Toby smiled weakly.
"Clarina hates billionaires."
"I noticed."
Clarina glared at both of them.
Toby laughed.
For a few minutes, everything felt normal.
Then a doctor entered.
"The test results are encouraging."
Clarina's eyes filled with tears.
"Really?"
"Yes. The treatment appears to be working."
Toby smiled.
Christian quietly stepped out.
Clarina followed him.
"You don't have to leave."
"I know."
"Then why did you?"
"Because this is your family."
She stared at him.
"You keep surprising me."
"I've been trying."
"Why?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "Because I don't want to be the man people think I am anymore."
Her expression softened.
Before she could respond, a nurse rushed into the hallway.
"There you are."
She looked at Clarina.
"Your brother's room was tampered with again."
They ran inside.
A small access panel behind the medical monitor had been opened.
Someone had attempted to attach a device.
Clarina touched it.
"This is another network bridge."
Christian stared.
"Same technology?"
"Yes."
"Why target his room?"
"Because they know I'm here."
The answer was obvious.
They left the hospital under heavy security.
That evening, Christian gathered his legal team.
He revealed everything.
The altered telemetry.
The stolen patents.
Riker.
The shell companies.
Daniel Cross.
The medical-record breach.
Everyone in the room became silent.
One attorney finally spoke.
"If this is accurate, this goes beyond commercial sabotage."
Christian nodded.
"It does."
Clarina placed the files on the table.
"I want to prove what happened to the Valkyrie prototype five years ago."
A lawyer asked, "Why now?"
"Because the same engineering flaw is being exploited again."
Christian added, "And because whoever did this is still operating."
They traced money through three countries.
The final payment led to a company called Northline Systems.
Northline's CEO was Daniel Cross.
But Daniel had vanished.
Then came an unexpected email.
No sender name.
Only an attachment.
Clarina opened it.
A video.
The footage showed a younger Riker inside a test facility.
He was talking to another man.
The face of the other man was blurred.
But the voice was clear.
"Once Wells is blamed, the patent portfolio becomes ours."
Clarina stopped breathing.
The second voice continued.
"She's too stubborn."
Riker laughed.
"That's why I made sure nobody believed her."
Christian stared at the screen.
"Who is the other man?"
Clarina replayed the clip.
Then paused.
She recognized a watch.
Not the person.
The watch.
An Adler Hutton executive wore the same model.
She turned to Christian.
"Someone in your company helped him."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
They checked records.
One name kept appearing.
Victoria Adler.
Christian's mother.
She had been chairman of the foundation that controlled the family trust.
Christian refused to believe it.
"My mother?"
"We don't know yet."
"She died two years ago."
Clarina looked at the document.
"Then someone is using her access."
Christian became pale.
The trust had never been closed.
And its authentication system still had authority over several corporate accounts.
Someone was operating in the shadows.
Later that night, Christian drove Clarina to Toby's temporary safe location.
They stood outside beneath the stars.
"You believe me now?" he asked.
"I always believed the evidence."
"What about me?"
Clarina looked at him.
"I don't know."
"Fair."
She sighed.
"I've spent five years assuming every powerful person would eventually use me."
Christian stepped closer.
"I won't."
"You can't promise that."
"Then I'll prove it."
She looked up at him.
For one dangerous second, neither moved.
Then Clarina stepped back.
"Your investigation isn't finished."
"No."
"Neither is mine."
They returned to work.
And somewhere across town, a hidden account authorized one final transfer.
The target was not Christian.
It was Toby.
The amount was enormous.
May you like
The message attached to it contained only four words.
Make her surrender.
