Chapter 4 - The Ghost of the Past
I spent the next three days pretending my hearing was getting progressively worse.
I stopped reacting to sounds behind me, asked Cassandra to repeat herself constantly, and let my speech slur slightly.
She played the role of the devoted, tragic fiancée flawlessly, holding my hand and shedding crocodile tears when my friends came to visit.
Behind her back, I hired Elias Vance, a former federal agent turned private investigator who owed me his career.
I met Elias in a dimly lit diner on the edge of the city, far away from the prying eyes of high society.
I slid a manila envelope containing Cassandra's background file across the sticky table.
"I need you to dig into every single shadow of her life before she met me," I instructed him.
Elias opened the file, glancing at her pristine, perfectly crafted resume and socialite credentials.
"She looks clean on paper, Julian," Elias muttered, sipping his black coffee.
"Too clean," I countered, leaning forward in the booth.
"People with zero dirt in their past are usually the ones who spent a fortune burying it."
A week later, Elias called me on an encrypted burner phone I had hidden in my garage.
"You were right, boss," Elias said, his voice crackling over the secure line.
"Cassandra Vance isn't her real name; it's an identity she bought five years ago."
"Her real name is Clara Sterling, and you are not her first wealthy target."
Elias explained that Clara had been married to a real estate tycoon in Florida seven years ago.
The man had suffered a sudden, mysterious neurological decline, eventually dying of a massive brain aneurysm.
Clara inherited millions, liquidated all the assets, and vanished entirely from the East Coast.
She had refined her technique, and I was simply her masterpiece project.
"I also found a series of wire transfers from an offshore account into her secret bank file," Elias added.
"The money is coming from someone right here in Silicon Valley."
"Who?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Victor Sterling," Elias replied grimly. "The vice chairman of your own board of directors."
The betrayal hit me like a physical blow to the stomach.
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Victor had mentored me when I first started the company; he was like a father to me.
They were working together to seize control of Orion Bio-Systems from the inside out.
