CHAPTER 1 — The Fall That Was Never Supposed to Have Witnesses
The wheelchair vanished into the white mist.
Metal scraped against rock.
Then...
Silence.
Only the roar of the waterfall remained.
Claire collapsed onto her knees, forcing tears into her eyes.
"Oh my God..."
"He slipped!"
"He slipped!"
Her lover, Jason, grabbed his phone with shaking hands.
"Call 911!"
"Hurry!"
He deliberately waited almost two minutes before dialing.
Long enough.
Long enough for no one to survive a fall like that.
The emergency dispatcher asked questions.
Jason answered perfectly.
"It was an accident."
"The rocks were slippery."
"We tried to save him."
Claire cried exactly when she was supposed to.
Not too much.
Not too little.
Everything looked convincing.
Almost...
Too convincing.
Three hours later...
The rescue helicopters returned.
Empty.
No body.
Search teams found the destroyed wheelchair trapped between two rocks nearly two hundred feet below.
Pieces of broken metal.
One torn blanket.
Blood.
But no corpse.
The sheriff frowned.
"We'll continue searching tomorrow."
Jason forced himself to nod.
Inside...
His heart raced.
"No body means no inheritance."
Claire squeezed his arm after everyone left.
"They'll find him."
"They have to."
Jason wasn't so sure.
That night...
Neither of them slept.
The next morning...
News channels across the country reported the tragedy.
Billionaire Investor Daniel Ashford Presumed Dead After Waterfall Accident.
Employees cried.
Business partners released statements.
Stock prices dropped.
The board announced temporary leadership.
Claire became the grieving wife.
Flowers arrived by the hundreds.
Television crews gathered outside the mansion.
She played her role beautifully.
Every interview ended with tears.
"I loved my husband."
"He was my whole world."
Millions believed her.
Except one person.
Late that evening...
An unmarked envelope appeared beneath Claire's front door.
No stamp.
No return address.
Inside...
Only one photograph.
Taken from across the waterfall.
It clearly showed Jason's hands...
Pushing the wheelchair.
On the back...
Seven handwritten words.
"I saw everything. Wait for my instructions."
Claire dropped the photograph.
Jason's face turned white.
Someone had witnessed the murder.
And that someone...
Wanted something.
The next morning...
Another message arrived.
Bring five million dollars.
Come alone.
No police.
Or the photograph goes public.
Jason slammed his fist against the table.
"We'll pay."
Claire shook her head.
"No."
"If we pay once..."
"They'll keep coming forever."
She smiled slowly.
Coldly.
"Instead..."
"We'll silence the witness."
Neither of them realized...
They had already walked into the first trap.
Because the blackmailer...
Wasn't asking for money.
He was waiting...
May you like
For them to confess.
END OF CHAPTER 1
