Chapter 14: The Fifth Founder
The broken cassette lay motionless inside the recorder.
Marcus pressed the Play button again.
Only static answered.
Richard carefully removed the tape.
"The magnetic ribbon snapped."
Marcus frowned.
"Can it be repaired?"
Richard nodded.
"Possibly."
"But not here."
Marcus looked toward the steel lockbox.
"There has to be something else."
There was.
Beneath the broken cassette rested the old VHS tape.
Across its faded label, written in blue ink, were four words:
FOUNDERS MEETING. PRIVATE.
Date:
April 17, 2003
Three weeks before Anthony Rossi's arrest.
Police Digital Forensics Lab
An hour later, the tape sat inside one of the city's few remaining VHS restoration systems.
A technician smiled nervously.
"I haven't touched one of these in years."
The machine whirred.
Static filled the monitor.
Then...
The image stabilized.
A conference room appeared.
Young.
Hopeful.
Five people sat around a wooden table.
Jonathan Thorne.
Richard Bennett.
Anthony Rossi.
Victor Hale.
And...
A woman with dark hair wearing a navy business suit.
Marcus immediately recognized her from the empty picture frame.
"Evelyn."
Richard nodded.
"She was only thirty-two."
The recording timestamp blinked.
CONFIDENTIAL BOARD MEETING
The Video
Jonathan stood before a whiteboard covered in financial projections.
"We're finally profitable."
Anthony laughed.
"We survived."
Victor smiled.
"Barely."
Everyone looked younger.
Relaxed.
Like friends.
Nothing suggested that betrayal was only weeks away.
Then Evelyn interrupted.
"I've reviewed every overseas transaction."
The room became quiet.
Victor's smile faded.
"What about them?"
Evelyn placed several folders onto the table.
"They're fake."
Jonathan frowned.
"What?"
She calmly opened the documents.
"Someone has created shell companies."
Anthony leaned forward.
"I've never seen these."
Richard took one file.
Neither have I."
Every pair of eyes slowly turned toward Victor.
He didn't flinch.
Instead...
He smiled.
Present Day
Marcus felt his pulse quicken.
"So she caught him."
Richard nodded.
"Much earlier than I remembered."
On the screen...
Victor folded his hands.
"I can explain."
Evelyn shook her head.
"No."
"You can confess."
Jonathan looked confused.
"Victor..."
"Tell me she's wrong."
Victor sighed.
Then, to everyone's surprise...
He laughed.
Not nervously.
Not defensively.
Genuinely laughed.
Marcus whispered,
"My God..."
The Confession
Victor stood.
"There are no shell companies."
Jonathan frowned.
"You just admitted..."
Victor interrupted.
"I created them."
Anthony pushed back his chair.
"Why?"
Victor walked slowly around the table.
"Because this company thinks too small."
Richard stared at him.
"We're making millions."
Victor smiled.
"I want billions."
Silence.
Victor continued.
"Governments steal."
"Taxes steal."
"Regulations steal."
"So I stole first."
Anthony slammed his hand onto the table.
"That's criminal."
Victor answered calmly.
"It's efficient."
The Vote
Evelyn placed one final document onto the table.
"I've already contacted federal investigators."
Victor's smile disappeared.
"You what?"
"They'll be here tomorrow morning."
Jonathan looked horrified.
"Evelyn..."
She met his eyes.
"If we report ourselves now..."
"We survive."
"If we wait..."
"We all become criminals."
Anthony nodded immediately.
"I agree."
Richard raised his hand.
"So do I."
Jonathan hesitated.
Victor slowly looked at him.
Four people.
One decision.
Jonathan lowered his head.
"I..."
Before he could answer...
The recording suddenly glitched.
The image distorted.
The sound vanished.
When the picture returned...
The meeting was over.
The room was empty.
Marcus stared at the screen.
"What happened?"
The technician checked the tape.
"Someone intentionally erased twelve minutes."
Richard's expression darkened.
"The most important twelve minutes."
Another Discovery
The technician frowned.
"Wait."
He zoomed into one corner of the damaged frame.
Barely visible...
A reflection appeared inside the conference room window.
Someone else had been there.
Watching.
Marcus leaned closer.
"Can you enhance it?"
The technician worked for several minutes.
The blurry silhouette slowly sharpened.
Not perfect.
But recognizable.
A young man.
Approximately twenty-five.
Wearing a hospital security uniform.
Richard frowned.
"I don't know him."
Marcus looked at the badge.
The name was barely readable.
The technician sharpened it one final time.
D. PARKER
Marcus blinked.
"Parker?"
Richard's eyes widened.
"Elaine Parker."
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
"Elaine's a woman."
Richard suddenly stood.
"Not Elaine."
"Her father."
Bennett Medical Center
Elaine Parker had barely slept since the attack.
She sat alone in her office replaying the security footage again and again.
She couldn't stop blaming herself.
"If I'd gone upstairs sooner..."
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Come in."
Detective Laura Hayes entered.
"We need to ask you about your father."
Elaine looked confused.
"My father?"
"He worked security."
Elaine nodded slowly.
"Years ago."
"He died when I was sixteen."
The detective exchanged a glance with Richard.
"Are you certain?"
Elaine frowned.
"I buried him."
Richard quietly placed the enhanced image from the VHS tape onto her desk.
Elaine picked it up.
Her hands began trembling.
"No..."
She whispered.
"That's impossible."
"What is?"
She looked at the photograph.
Tears filled her eyes.
"That's my father."
Richard spoke carefully.
"This video was recorded twenty-three years ago."
Elaine nodded.
"I know."
Richard took a slow breath.
"We have reason to believe he may have survived much longer than anyone realized."
Elaine looked up.
"What are you saying?"
Richard answered with visible reluctance.
"We think someone faked his death."
Unknown Location
Victor watched the restored VHS recording from another monitor.
He smiled.
"They finally found it."
One of his men entered.
"They're restoring more tapes."
Victor nodded.
"They're supposed to."
The guard looked confused.
"You wanted them to find the archive?"
Victor turned toward him.
"I wanted Marcus to ask the right questions."
"And now?"
Victor walked to a large vault door built into the wall.
He entered a six-digit code.
The vault slowly opened.
Inside...
Not stacks of money.
Not weapons.
Only shelves filled with videotapes.
Hundreds of them.
Every tape carefully labeled with dates stretching back more than twenty years.
Victor picked up one marked:
THE REAL VOTE
He smiled faintly.
"The truth..."
"...is only dangerous when someone controls which half of it survives."
He placed the tape into a player.
On the monitor, Jonathan's face appeared just before the erased twelve minutes began.
Victor leaned back in his chair.
"You've blamed yourself for twenty-three years, old friend."
He pressed Play.
"And tomorrow..."
May you like
"...your son will finally learn what you actually chose."
End of Chapter 14
