Chapter 9 - The Ghost from the Past
The revelation hung heavy in the precinct hallway. Daniel walked out of the observation room, his phone vibrating incessantly in his pocket. It was a string of text messages from his corporate PR team, desperately asking how to handle the sudden media firestorm exploding across social media. Photos of the aborted wedding at St. Jude’s chapel were already trending nationwide under the merciless hashtag #BrideOnTheRun.
He ignored the notifications, stepping out into the crisp evening air to clear his head. Sophie was safe, currently resting at home with a trusted family nanny, but the psychological weight of the betrayal felt crushing.
Julian. The name echoed in his mind like a ghost story. They had grown up fighting over their father’s tech startup, two brothers with vastly different visions. While Daniel believed in ethical innovation and long-term sustainability, Julian had always chased quick capital, high-risk leverage, and ruthless market domination. When Julian supposedly died during an alpine expedition in the Swiss Alps, Daniel had inherited the company alone, mourning a brother he could never quite reconcile with.
Now, it seemed Julian had never died at all. He had faked his own demise, retreated into the shadows of the corporate underworld, and waited patiently for Daniel to build the empire high enough so he could tear it down from the foundation.
As Daniel reached his car, a sleek, unmarked black town car pulled up quietly beside the curb. The tinted rear window rolled down an inch, revealing a familiar silver-haired man in a bespoke charcoal suit. It wasn't Julian—it was Arthur Pendelton, the elderly family attorney who had overseen the Vance family estate for over forty years.
"Get in, Daniel," Arthur said, his voice unusually strained. "We don't have much time."
Daniel paused, eyeing the open car door with deep suspicion. "Arthur, what is this about? Are you involved with Julian too?"
"If I were, you wouldn't be standing here breathing fresh air," the old lawyer replied sharply, unlocking the passenger doors from the master console. "Get in the car before the people tracking your phone find you."
May you like
Daniel hesitated for a fraction of a second, then pulled open the door and slid into the leather interior. The door slammed shut with a heavy, muted thud, sealing them off from the outside world.
---
