CHAPTER 6 — The Man Who Never Existed
Three days later...
The FBI placed Elena under twenty-four-hour protection.
Two armored SUVs followed her everywhere.
Snipers watched every rooftop.
Federal agents guarded every entrance.
The government insisted it was necessary.
Elena wasn't convinced.
"If they wanted me dead..."
"...they've already had thirty years."
The lead investigator looked at her.
"No."
"They wanted your father dead."
"You..."
"...they've been waiting for."
That night...
A black envelope appeared inside Elena's apartment.
No fingerprints.
No security footage.
No signs of forced entry.
Only one sentence typed on white paper.
You already own what belongs to me.
There was no signature.
Only a chess piece.
A black king.
Across town...
Damian sat alone in a federal interrogation room.
The prosecutor slid a photograph toward him.
It showed Victor Voss shaking hands with an unfamiliar man.
Tall.
Gray-haired.
Elegant.
His face partially hidden.
"Do you recognize him?"
Damian stared for nearly a minute.
Then he whispered,
"I've seen him before."
"Where?"
"My tenth birthday."
The investigators leaned forward.
"He gave me a wooden chess set."
Damian closed his eyes.
"My father stood when he entered."
"He never stood for anyone."
The room fell silent.
"So who was he?"
Damian slowly answered.
"My father called him..."
"...Chairman."
Hours later...
Elena finished reading her father's journal.
Every page uncovered another layer of the conspiracy.
Bribes.
Disappearances.
Political manipulation.
Corporate assassinations disguised as accidents.
But the final page...
Changed everything.
Michael Laurent had written only one sentence.
The Chairman doesn't exist.
Below it...
Another line.
He is a title.
Elena's breathing stopped.
Not one man.
A succession.
Each Chairman choosing the next.
A hidden organization operating behind presidents...
Behind governments...
Behind every financial crisis for nearly seventy years.
Just then—
The lights in the apartment went out.
Darkness.
Complete silence.
Then...
A slow clap echoed through the living room.
One.
Two.
Three.
Elena reached for the emergency pistol hidden beneath the table.
A calm voice emerged from the shadows.
"Very impressive."
An elderly man stepped into the moonlight.
Perfect gray suit.
Silver hair.
Warm smile.
As if he were an old family friend.
He looked directly at Elena.
"My name..."
"...is Richard Ashcroft."
He paused.
"Most people call me..."
"...Chairman."
Before anyone could react—
The apartment windows exploded inward.
Gunfire erupted from every direction.
Federal agents shouted outside.
Bodyguards returned fire.
Glass rained across the floor.
In the chaos...
The old man simply smiled.
Then disappeared into the smoke...
Leaving only one sentence behind.
"We'll meet again..."
May you like
"...when you're ready to inherit everything."
END OF CHAPTER 6...
