Chapter 9 - The Decryption
Claire drove straight to an underground internet cafe in the city's worst neighborhood.
She paid for an hour of computer time with her last twenty-dollar bill.
Her hands shook uncontrollably as she plugged the microchip into the tower.
A strict password prompt flashed onto the black screen.
She thought about the night of the charity gala.
She typed in Nathaniel’s birthdate.
Access denied.
She tried the date his mother tragically died.
Access denied.
Then, an unsettling thought crossed her mind.
She typed in her daughter Mia’s birthday.
The screen turned green, and hundreds of encrypted files loaded instantly.
Her breath caught sharply in her throat.
These were the Whitmore family’s hidden, highly illegal financial records.
They documented illegal weapon sales, corporate bribes, and political blackmail.
But there was something else buried at the bottom.
A separate folder was labeled with her own name.
She clicked on it with a trembling finger.
Inside were hundreds of photos of Claire and Mia.
Pictures taken in the park, at the grocery store, and inside their private apartment.
They had been watching her for five long years.
Evelyn did not frame her.
Nathaniel did not frame her.
A man named Richard Whitmore was listed as the surveillance supervisor.
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Richard was Nathaniel’s father.
The exact same father who supposedly died in a fiery plane crash ten years ago.
