Chapter 8 - The Heir to a Crime Scene
Andrew stared at his phone. “I didn't sign anything.”
“That's why you need legal counsel,” Ruth said. “The filing uses a digital authorization under your executive credentials.”
He ended the call and looked at Daniel. “He's putting the company in my name. If investigators find the fraud, he can tell them I controlled the accounts.”
Daniel considered him for a moment. “Your father has confused loyalty with ownership. Doesn't mean you have to.”
Within an hour Andrew had retained an attorney with no ties to Hale Defense, filed a sworn statement disputing the transfer, and demanded preservation of company records. The attorney warned that documents could disappear long before the courts issued orders.
“Then we keep shining lights into every closet,” Andrew said.
Elena and Sophie went to a safe house arranged through investigators. Elena hated the word safe; she'd been promised safety on government letterhead before. Still, she slept for forty minutes with her daughter's head on her shoulder.
Daniel agreed to see a physician after the punctured skin beneath his prosthesis began bleeding. In the clinic exam room, he tried to joke with the nurse about his horrible timing. She handed him fresh dressings and told him bravery wasn't the same as neglecting himself.
He listened. For once.
That afternoon a news clip from the gala went viral. It showed Victor shouting, Daniel staggering, and the shattered glasses raining across the floor. Commenters argued over what they'd witnessed. Some praised Daniel; others accused him of staging an attack for money.
Andrew watched the clip with a strange coldness. The camera caught him defending Daniel. For the first time, he saw himself making a choice his father hadn't scripted.
A reporter called. He nearly hung up, then agreed to meet with lawyers present and documents verified. He would not turn Marcus's death into a sensational rumor. Facts first, even when the facts hurt him.
Just before the meeting, Ruth sent a scanned internal memo. It described a plan to erase inspection logs linked to the old convoy shipment.
May you like
The author was Owen Pierce.
And the memo was dated that morning.
