Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO SENT THE MESSAGES
Daniel did not go alone.
He brought Mara.
He also brought Detective Lena Ortiz in an unmarked car two blocks behind.
The address led to a closed laundromat in Queens.
Terrified.
"I didn't know she was dead," she said before Daniel could speak.
"Start at the beginning."
Elise worked as Claire's executive assistant.
Thirteen months earlier, Vanessa called her at midnight.
Claire had suffered a "breakdown."
She needed privacy.
The board feared panic.
Elise was ordered to keep Claire's calendar and email active.
"At first Vanessa dictated replies."
"Then?"
"Marcus sent voice notes."
"Marcus?"
"Dr. Hale."
No visitors.
No calls.
Elise believed him because Marcus had treated the Carter family for twenty years.
Approve a vendor.
Confirm a board vote.
Authorize a proxy.
Elise protested.
Vanessa threatened her mother, who depended on Carter health insurance.
"So you kept doing it."
"Yes."
Daniel wanted to shout.
Instead he asked, "Who made the videos?"
"A contractor named Julian Price."
"Digital media division."
"He built face models for advertising."
"Where is he?"
"Missing."
"Like Claire?"
"Maybe."
Then she handed him a flash drive.
"I copied everything before I quit."
It contained drafts, metadata, payment requests, and one audio file.
Vanessa's voice:
We only need eighteen months. After that, the continuity clause makes the proxy permanent.
"What continuity clause?"
His father's trust.
If a founder-shareholder became incapacitated and absent for eighteen months, an existing proxy could be confirmed by the board without personal appearance.
Claire owned thirty-one percent.
She had been dead thirteen months.
Someone needed five more months of fake existence.
Then her proxy could become permanent.
"Who is the proxy?" Daniel asked.
"Vanessa."
Daniel went still.
His wife had been impersonating his dead sister to gain control of Claire's shares.
Detective Ortiz entered.
Elise panicked.
"You lied. You brought police."
Daniel said, "Yes."
Before she could respond, glass shattered.
A bullet punched through the laundromat window.
Ortiz dragged Elise down.
Mara hit the floor.
Outside, an engine roared away.
"Someone knew she was here."
"Who else knew about this meeting?"
Elise whispered, "Only one person."
"Who?"
May you like
"My brother."
"He works for Marcus Hale."
