Chapter 13 - REBECCA'S ACCOUNT
Henry escaped.
Marcus did not.
Claire spent two days in the hospital.
When she was strong enough to talk, she told him the missing thirteen months.
After discovering the Black Ledger, Claire confronted Henry's old attorney.
The attorney warned Henry.
Vanessa lured Claire to a house, claiming Daniel was in danger.
Marcus drugged her.
She fell during the struggle and struck her head.
That injury became the basis for the death certificate.
Not because she died.
Because Henry needed the world to stop looking.
Claire woke at Northstar.
They demanded the encryption key to Rebecca's foundation account.
She refused.
They forged her emails and board activity.
"Why not kill you?"
"Because Mom's charter requires live biometric approval from one of us."
"One of us?"
Rebecca had named both children as protectors.
Daniel had never known.
Henry deleted his copy of the charter after Rebecca died.
"If I died, control shifted to you."
"So he couldn't let me know you were dead."
"Exactly."
A fake voluntary disappearance kept Daniel from invoking the charter.
A fake legal death hidden in private files allowed Henry to prepare the continuity proxy.
Two contradictory realities.
Both useful.
"Vanessa knew most of it."
Daniel's face hardened.
"She also threatened Noah and Lily."
"I know."
"She doesn't get forgiven because Dad was worse."
"I didn't say she did."
Good.
Claire wanted no easy redemption.
Federal agents recovered Rebecca's account.
Nine hundred million dollars had grown for years untouched.
The money legally belonged to the Carter Accountability Foundation.
Not Daniel.
Not Claire.
Not the company.
Its purpose was explicit.
Pay harmed workers.
Fund investigations.
Compensate families affected by concealed safety failures.
Henry had spent decades hiding the very fund designed to expose him.
Then the FBI found a pending transfer request submitted that morning.
Biometric authorization: Daniel Carter.
"I didn't approve anything."
Mara examined the signature token.
"It's real."
"Impossible."
"Your watch."
His biometric corporate watch had disappeared at the Connecticut fire.
He assumed it was lost.
Marcus had taken it.
But Marcus was in custody.
The transfer request originated from Canada.
Henry.
"How does Dad use my biometric token without me?"
"He doesn't."
"What?"
"He needs your pulse."
Daniel went cold.
Then his phone rang.
Noah's security school.
"Mr. Carter, your son was picked up ten minutes ago."
"By who?"
May you like
A pause.
"By you."
