Chapter 3 - The Secret in the Archives
The revelation that my father was murdered shattered whatever restraint I had left. I wasn't just fighting for my inheritance anymore; I was fighting for justice.
The next day, I arrived at the corporate headquarters of Thorne-Vance Enterprises. I had promised to show Clara the archives, but my true goal was to find the real autopsy report or any evidence pointing to my father’s murder.
Clara met me in the lobby, wearing a smirk that screamed victory. “Ready to show me my new empire, Elena?” she whispered as we entered the elevator.
“It’s all yours, Clara,” I replied, keeping my voice sweet and submissive. “I just want peace.”
I led her to the deep basement of the building, where the physical archives of my father’s oldest acquisitions were kept. The air was thick with the scent of old paper and dust. I pointed her toward a row of filing cabinets labeled 'Financial Audits 2018-2022.'
“Everything you need to understand the company's cash flow is in those drawers,” I said.
“Great. Now leave me. I can’t stand looking at your pathetic face,” Clara snapped, immediately pulling out folders.
I turned around and walked down the adjacent aisle, pretending to leave. But instead, I slipped into the server room at the end of the hall. Using the master keycard my father had given me before he died—one that Julian didn't know existed—I bypassed the security system and logged into the main server.
I plugged in an encrypted flash drive and activated the cloning software I had obtained from a private investigator friend. As the progress bar slowly crawled toward 100%, my heart hammered in my chest.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching the server room.
“Julian, she’s so gullible,” Clara’s voice echoed from the hallway. She was on the phone. “She actually brought me down here. I’m looking through the old files now. Have you located the original medical examiner’s files?”
I froze. The progress bar was at 82%.
“No,” Julian’s voice came through my earbud from the cloned phone app. “The medical examiner is demanding another fifty thousand dollars to keep his mouth shut. If he doesn’t get it by tonight, he’s going to the police with the toxicology report. We need to withdraw it from Elena’s trust fund today.”
“Just forge her signature,” Clara hissed. “She’s too weak to check.”
The progress bar hit 95%.
Clack. Clack. Clack. Clara’s high heels were getting closer to the server room door.
98%... 99%... Success!
I yanked the flash drive out just as the doorknob turned. I scrambled under the main server desk, pulling my legs in.
The door pushed open. Clara walked in, looking around the dimly lit room. She pulled out her phone, checking her reflection in the glass of the server rack. “Elena?” she called out. “Are you still here?”
My phone, resting in my pocket, suddenly began to vibrate.
May you like
It was an incoming call.
The buzzing sound was incredibly loud in the silent room. Clara stopped. Her eyes locked onto the desk where I was hiding. She began to walk toward me.
