CHAPTER 8 — The Man Who Stole Another Life
Rebecca immediately ordered the family mausoleum reopened.
By sunrise...
forensic teams surrounded the Whitmore cemetery.
The coffin was carefully lifted.
Everyone expected to confirm the impossible.
Instead...
they uncovered something even worse.
The body inside...
belonged to another man.
Alexander staggered backward.
"Then where is my father?"
Rebecca looked at him.
"Alive."
Hidden inside Margaret's confession was a final clue:
Project Phoenix.
For decades, the real Edward Whitmore had secretly used false identities to escape prosecution.
Each time investigators closed in...
another man died under his name.
Emily had discovered the scheme years earlier.
That was why she had vanished.
Not to hide from Alexander.
To protect Noah from Edward Whitmore.
As investigators searched international databases...
a facial-recognition alert suddenly flashed.
Location:
A private island in the Caribbean.
Owner:
Elias Grant.
Age:
Seventy-one.
The software generated a 99.8% match.
Edward Whitmore.
Alive.
Watching everything.
Seconds later...
every monitor in the FBI command center flickered.
A live video appeared.
Edward smiled.
Older.
Grayer.
But unmistakable.
"My son..."
"You've finally caught up."
Alexander clenched his fists.
"You destroyed our family."
Edward laughed.
"No."
"I created it."
Then he looked directly into the camera.
"And Noah..."
"...bring your grandfather the key."
Noah's face turned pale.
"What key?"
Edward smiled wider.
May you like
"The one your mother never understood."
"The one hidden inside your pocket watch."
