Chapter 4 - The Secret Inside the Omaly Family
The Mercer building stood forty minutes away from Jason’s mansion, but Jason refused to rush there blindly.
That was exactly what whoever sent the photograph wanted.
Instead, he ordered Jaden to move everyone to the mansion’s secure interior room while Paulie restored communications.
Lucas protested.
“We’re wasting time.”
Jason turned his wheelchair toward him.
“Stephanie waited months for me to learn the truth. She can wait another ten minutes while I make sure nobody else disappears.”
Lucas fell silent.
Jason looked toward Emmanuel.
“You said someone in my family helped Stephanie.”
Emmanuel nodded.
“Who?”
“I never met the person.”
Lucas scoffed.
“Convenient.”
Emmanuel ignored him.
“Stephanie called them ‘Guardian.’”
Jason frowned.
“A code name?”
“I think so.”
“What did Guardian do?”
“Helped her copy documents. Gave her access to internal records. Warned her whenever Lucas started checking systems.”
Lucas looked stunned.
“I wondered how she kept getting around me.”
Jason studied him.
“Apparently you weren’t as clever as you thought.”
Lucas looked away.
Paulie’s tablet beeped.
“Power is back.”
Security feeds returned one by one.
The vehicles outside were gone.
Jaden frowned.
“They left?”
Lucas nodded slowly.
“They achieved whatever they wanted.”
Jason looked toward the Mercer feed.
Offline.
Of course.
Jason made a decision.
“We go.”
Benita stepped forward.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Jason.”
He looked at her.
Benita didn’t blink.
“I have stood beside you through all of this. I’m not staying behind now.”
Jason knew arguing would waste time.
“Fine.”
Lucas stood.
“Me too.”
Jason looked at him.
“You think I’m letting you out of my sight?”
For the first time that day, Lucas almost looked relieved.
They left in a small convoy.
When they reached Mercer, the old brick building looked exactly as Jason remembered.
Three stories.
Faded stone entrance.
Narrow windows.
Nothing about it suggested it belonged to a billionaire.
Jason had purchased it before the mansions, private investments and luxury offices.
Back when every dollar mattered.
Stephanie had loved the place.
That memory hurt now.
The front door was unlocked.
Jaden entered first with his team.
Minutes later, he returned.
“Clear.”
Jason rolled inside.
The smell struck him immediately.
Old paper.
Wood.
Dust.
Memory.
Benita walked beside him.
Lucas remained behind them.
Paulie checked the security system.
“Someone disabled the cameras.”
“Can you see when?”
“About forty minutes ago.”
Jason looked around.
“What did they take?”
That required knowing what had been there.
They moved toward the archive room.
The door was open.
Inside, boxes had been pulled from shelves.
Documents covered the floor.
Someone had searched aggressively.
Lucas looked around.
“They found it.”
Jason shook his head.
“You don’t know what they were looking for.”
“Stephanie’s evidence.”
“Maybe.”
Jason rolled deeper into the room.
Something felt wrong.
Stephanie had known Lucas might search.
She wouldn’t hide evidence in an ordinary archive box.
Jason looked around.
What would she expect him to notice?
His eyes moved across the shelves.
Then stopped.
A framed photograph.
Jason and Stephanie.
Years earlier.
Standing in front of the Mercer building on the day he bought it.
Jason remembered the photograph.
But not the frame.
He moved closer.
“Bring that down.”
Benita took it from the shelf.
Jason examined it.
On the back was a handwritten sentence.
His breath stopped.
Stephanie’s handwriting.
YOU ALWAYS FORGET TO LOOK BEHIND WHAT YOU LOVE.
Jason stared at the words.
Benita whispered, “Jason?”
He turned the frame over again.
Then removed the backing.
Nothing.
Lucas sighed.
But Jason kept examining it.
Behind the photograph was a thin plastic card.
A storage key.
Number 117.
Paulie leaned closer.
“Storage locker?”
Jason shook his head.
“No.”
He recognized the logo.
It belonged to the private vault facility used by his company.
Lucas went pale.
Jason looked at him.
“You know this key.”
Lucas said nothing.
“Lucas.”
“It’s the executive vault.”
Jason’s heart accelerated.
Only a handful of people could enter.
Jason.
Lucas.
The chief financial officer.
And—
Jason froze.
One more person.
His aunt Evelyn.
The woman who had raised Jason and Lucas after their parents died.
Jason stared at the key.
Family.
Guardian.
Could it be Evelyn?
Lucas seemed to reach the same conclusion.
“No.”
Jason looked at him.
Lucas shook his head.
“She wouldn’t.”
“You said that about yourself too.”
Jason called Evelyn.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
A third time.
Voicemail.
Jason’s stomach tightened.
“When did anyone last see her?”
Lucas looked worried now.
“Yesterday.”
“Where?”
“At the foundation office.”
Paulie checked his tablet.
Then looked up.
“Her phone is off.”
Jason stared at the key.
Vault 117.
They drove directly to the private facility.
Jason’s authorization opened the outer doors.
The manager looked nervous when they arrived.
“Mr. Omaly, I wasn’t expecting—”
“Vault 117.”
The manager froze.
Jason noticed.
“What?”
The man swallowed.
“Someone accessed it today.”
Lucas stepped forward.
“Who?”
The manager looked at his computer.
“At 9:12 this morning.”
“Name.”
The manager hesitated.
“Evelyn Omaly.”
Jason felt sick.
“Is she still here?”
“No.”
“When did she leave?”
The manager checked.
“She didn’t.”
Everyone became still.
Jason frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Our system shows her entering.”
The manager looked confused.
“But there’s no record of her leaving.”
Jaden immediately ordered a search.
They found Vault 117 open.
Inside was a chair.
A handbag.
Evelyn’s handbag.
Benita covered her mouth.
Jason rolled forward.
On the floor lay Evelyn’s phone.
The screen was cracked.
Lucas whispered, “No.”
Jason looked inside the vault.
Empty shelves.
Someone had removed everything.
Then Paulie noticed a small flash drive taped underneath the chair.
He carefully removed it.
Attached was a note.
Stephanie’s handwriting again.
JASON — IF YOU FOUND THIS, TRUST THE WOMAN WHO RAISED YOU. SHE TRIED TO SAVE ME.
Jason closed his eyes.
Evelyn was Guardian.
And now she was missing.
Lucas stared at the note.
His voice broke.
“Aunt Evelyn knew?”
Jason looked at him.
“Yes.”
Lucas sank into the chair.
For the first time, shame replaced fear.
“She knew what I had done.”
Before Jason could answer, Evelyn’s phone suddenly rang on the floor.
Everyone stared at it.
Impossible.
The screen showed an incoming video call.
Unknown caller.
Jason picked it up.
He answered.
The image appeared.
Evelyn sat in a chair somewhere dark.
Alive.
Terrified.
A man stepped into frame behind her.
Only his hand and expensive watch were visible.
Then Victor Dane’s voice came through the speaker.
“Hello, Jason.”
Jason gripped the phone.
Victor continued.
“You found Stephanie’s little insurance policy.”
Jason stared at Evelyn.
“What do you want?”
Victor laughed softly.
“The same thing I wanted from your brother.”
“What?”
“Your empire.”
The screen went black.
May you like
And Jason finally understood that forty-eight million dollars had never been the real prize.
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