Chapter 4: The Billionaire's Final Recording Changed Everything
The entire street stood frozen.
Even the police officers exchanged uneasy glances.
Richard's face had gone completely white.
"She's lying!" he shouted.
"That picture proves nothing!"
The elderly woman slowly looked at him.
Her eyes carried years of disappointment.
"It proves enough."
Richard laughed nervously.
"You have no witnesses."
"You have no case."
Then...
The detective smiled.
"Oh, but we do."
A black evidence case was carried from one of the police vehicles.
The detective carefully opened it.
Inside sat an old digital voice recorder.
Scratched.
Dusty.
Nearly forgotten.
Daniel's heart skipped a beat.
"I know that recorder..."
The elderly woman nodded.
"It belonged to your father."
Richard suddenly lunged forward.
"Don't play it!"
Two officers immediately pinned him to the ground.
The detective pressed the PLAY button.
Static filled the air.
Then...
An old man's trembling voice echoed across the silent street.
"If anyone is hearing this..."
"...my name is William Carter."
"I believe my own son is trying to kill me."
A wave of shock swept through the crowd.
Richard screamed.
"TURN IT OFF!"
But the recording continued.
"I discovered Richard transferred hundreds of millions from our company..."
"...and blamed Daniel."
"I refused to sign the papers."
"So Richard said..."
The old man's breathing became weak.
Then everyone heard the sentence that changed everything.
"If you won't sign..."
"...I'll make sure no one ever hears your voice again."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then...
A loud thump echoed from the pavement.
Richard had collapsed to his knees.
People who had been recording gasped in disbelief.
Some began crying.
Others backed away from Richard as though he were a monster.
Daniel couldn't move.
For five years...
He had believed fate had destroyed his life.
Now he realized...
Every tragedy had been carefully planned.
His company.
His reputation.
His daughter.
Even the attempted murder of the man who trusted him like a son.
The detective looked at Richard.
"Richard Carter..."
"You're under arrest for conspiracy, fraud, attempted murder, kidnapping, and obstruction of justice."
Officers moved in with handcuffs.
But Richard suddenly started laughing.
Not a nervous laugh.
A terrifying one.
"You think this is over?"
Everyone stopped.
Richard slowly raised his head.
Blood trickled from his lip.
"You arrested the wrong person."
The detective frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Richard smiled.
"I wasn't the mastermind."
The crowd fell silent again.
Daniel's stomach tightened.
"There was someone above me."
Someone richer.
Someone more powerful.
Someone who owned politicians...
Judges...
Even police chiefs.
The detective's expression changed instantly.
"Who?"
Richard looked directly at Daniel.
Then he whispered a single name.
The elderly woman's face lost all color.
She staggered backward.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
Daniel had never seen fear in her eyes before.
Not until this moment.
Because the name Richard had spoken belonged to the one person everyone trusted...
The man who had comforted Daniel's family after the scandal...
The man who had paid for his daughter's foster care...
The man the entire city called a hero.
And at that exact moment...
A television in the electronics store across the street interrupted every broadcast with BREAKING NEWS.
The smiling face of that beloved billionaire filled the screen.
The reporter announced:
"Philanthropist and presidential candidate Jonathan Hayes has just arrived in the city to announce the largest charitable donation in American history."
Daniel stared at the screen.
Jonathan Hayes...
The city's greatest hero.
The country's most admired billionaire.
And according to Richard...
May you like
The real architect behind every nightmare Daniel had suffered.
To be continued...
