CHAPTER 2 — The Letter That Should Never Have Existed
Daniel rolled his eyes before tearing open the ancient envelope.
"I'll prove this is nonsense."
The wax seal cracked.
A folded handwritten letter slipped into his hand.
The paper was yellow with age.
Across the top, written in elegant ink, were six words:
"To my son... if I never return."
Daniel frowned.
"My son?"
He looked back at the homeless man.
"What kind of joke is this?"
The old man's eyes filled with quiet sadness.
"Keep reading."
The board members leaned closer.
The room became completely silent.
Daniel unfolded the second page.
His confident expression slowly disappeared.
The handwriting looked hauntingly familiar.
Impossible.
It matched every signature his late father had ever written.
His heartbeat accelerated.
He continued reading.
"If you are reading this, then I failed to come home. The man bringing you this letter is the only person I ever trusted with my life."
Daniel swallowed hard.
His father had died twenty-five years earlier in what everyone believed was a tragic helicopter accident.
The company had built an entire empire on that story.
His hands began to shake.
The next paragraph made the color drain from his face.
"Do not trust the board."
A murmur spread across the room.
Several executives suddenly looked uncomfortable.
Daniel read on.
"The accident was never an accident."
Someone gasped.
The chairman standing near the window took one slow step backward.
Then another.
Sweat appeared across his forehead.
Daniel's voice cracked as he reached the final page.
"There are names..."
His eyes widened.
Every board member froze.
The letter contained a complete list of people involved...
...including executives who were still standing in that very room.
Daniel slowly looked up.
The homeless old man wasn't looking at him anymore.
He was staring directly at the chairman.
For the first time in twenty-five years...
...the chairman's confident smile completely disappeared.
And then the old man quietly said,
"I've waited half my life for you to read that letter."
May you like
No one noticed...
...that outside the boardroom, federal agents had just stepped out of the elevator.
