Rachel's Last Message
Chapter 06 - Rachel's Last Message
Rachel's voice trembled through the speaker.
"Victor Hale has been hiding money through shell companies for years. Your father discovered part of it, but he was too afraid to expose him because Victor knows what happened to us."
Adrian stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
"I found documents while working for one of Victor's charities. I didn't know what they meant at first."
A pause.
Then Rachel whispered:
"Now I do."
Adrian looked at Marcus.
"Keep playing."
"Victor has been stealing from employee pension funds. Millions. Maybe more. I copied everything."
Rachel's voice cracked.
"If anything happens to me, don't trust anyone on your board."
The message ended.
Silence filled the room.
Eli stood in the doorway.
"Was that Mom?"
Adrian turned.
"Yes."
"Is she alive?"
Adrian wanted to promise.
Instead, he said, "We're going to find her."
Marcus examined the phone.
"She said she copied the documents."
"Where are they?"
"Not on the phone."
Adrian remembered the motel.
They had searched everything.
Then Eli suddenly spoke.
"Maybe Teddy knows."
Adrian looked at him.
"What?"
Eli held up the bear.
"Mom used to say Teddy kept our secrets."
Marcus took the bear carefully.
He examined the stitching.
One seam along the back was newer than the others.
Marcus opened it.
Inside was a small flash drive.
Adrian almost laughed.
Rachel had hidden millions of dollars' worth of evidence inside the toy he had given her when they were young.
Marcus connected the drive to an offline computer.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Bank transfers.
Fake corporations.
Board approvals.
Pension accounts.
And photographs of signed documents.
Victor Hale's name appeared everywhere.
But another name appeared too.
Charles Cole.
Adrian stared at his father's signature.
"Was he involved?"
Marcus shook his head.
"These may show he approved transactions."
Adrian felt sick.
Either his father had helped steal from thousands of employees—
or Victor had made sure it looked that way.
Then Marcus opened a final folder.
Inside was a recent photograph.
Rachel.
Standing beside Charles.
Taken only two weeks earlier.
May you like
Adrian's father had claimed he had not seen her in eleven years.
Another lie.
