Chapter 18 - Forty-One
At 9:35 the next morning, I entered Hale Tower through the public lobby.
No wheelchair.
No brace.
A black cane in my right hand.
Every camera turned toward me.
The crowd went silent.
I walked slowly, because that was the truth. Every step hurt. My knee shook. My left leg was weaker than my right.
But it carried me.
Daniel walked beside me. Marcus followed two steps back. Dr. Shah came with the medical report. Detective Ruiz had officers positioned throughout the building.
The board meeting was on forty-one.
When the elevator doors opened, Thomas Whitmore was waiting.
He smiled.
“Vincent.”
I had not seen him since I was twenty-four.
“You look healthy for a dead man,” I said.
He chuckled. “And you look healthier than expected.”
Seven directors sat around the table. Three looked ashamed. Two looked defiant. Two looked confused.
I placed Dr. Shah's assessment in front of them.
Then Daniel placed the payment records beside it.
Then Ruiz entered.
Thomas's smile disappeared.
The meeting became chaos.
Lawyers objected. Directors shouted. Phones rang.
Then every screen in the room went black.
A countdown appeared.
04:59.
04:58.
Thomas stood.
“What did you do?” Daniel demanded.
Thomas looked genuinely surprised.
For the first time, I believed him.
Marcus checked the network tablet. “Mass deletion protocol. Company servers.”
Years of contracts, financial records, patents, customer systems—everything could be destroyed or encrypted.
“Can you stop it?” I asked.
“Not from here.”
The countdown hit 04:21.
A message appeared beneath it.
HELLO, VINCENT.
Then another.
YOUR FATHER LEFT ONE MORE SECRET.
Marcus looked at me.
“This isn't Thomas.”
Thomas went pale.
“No,” he said.
I turned to him. “Then who?”
May you like
He stared at the screen.
“My son.”
