The Witness in the Rain
Chapter 08 - The Witness in the Rain
The alarm forced the board into the lobby, where reporters and employees gathered under emergency lights. There was no fire. Someone had triggered the system manually to break the meeting and give Marcus time to leave.
He reached the underground garage before security stopped him. In his briefcase were two passports, cash, and a laptop containing access codes to the foundation's offshore accounts. Marcus refused to speak without an attorney, but the attempt to flee changed the room's mood. Directors who had feared embarrassing Vivienne now feared being blamed beside her.
Still, the forged transfer remained legally active until a judge suspended it. Adrian needed a living witness who could connect the signatures, payments, and threats.
Ruth Han was three states away. She had stopped answering calls after her video testimony. Then Elena noticed something in the bank affidavit: a handwritten symbol shaped like a small umbrella. Her father had drawn the same mark beside a name in his notes—Thomas Reed.
Thomas had been the Castillos' chauffeur during Adrian's recovery. He disappeared shortly after Mateo was accused. Gabriel searched old payroll files and found an emergency contact in a coastal town two hours away.
The storm had flooded the highway, but Elena insisted on going. Adrian joined her, leaving his attorney to seek an emergency injunction. They found Thomas living above a closed repair shop, packing bags when they arrived.
“I knew this day would come,” he said.
Thomas admitted he had driven Vivienne, Marcus, and Ruth to the private clinic after Adrian's accident. He saw Adrian unconscious in a recovery room while papers were pressed against his hand for fingerprint authorization. Later, Nolan paid Thomas to leave the state. Thomas kept silent because Nolan threatened his daughter.
“Why tell us now?” Adrian asked.
Thomas looked at Elena. “Because Mateo came to me before he died. He said silence was how powerful people turned good men into accomplices.”
Thomas still had the dash-camera card from that night. The video showed Vivienne entering the clinic with blank legal forms and leaving with Marcus carrying completed documents.
As they drove back through heavy rain, Thomas agreed to testify before the judge and board. Elena watched the water stream across the car window and thought of her father, who had stood alone against the same people.
“You should hate this family,” Adrian said quietly.
“I hated what was done,” she replied. “Hatred is easy. Truth takes work.”
Adrian looked at her with a respect deeper than gratitude.
May you like
Then his attorney called. The judge had granted them ten minutes at an emergency virtual hearing.
If Thomas's evidence failed, Vivienne would control Castillo Holdings before midnight.
