Chapter 13 - The Dead Man
Thomas Shaw was alive.
The factory accident had killed Ethan’s father, but Thomas had survived with severe burns. My father paid him to disappear because his testimony could have destroyed the company.
Vanessa grew up believing her father was dead.
Years later, she learned the truth.
That was when she and Ethan began planning their revenge.
Thomas appeared by video at the emergency hearing. His face was heavily scarred, and one hand had limited movement.
“My designs created the technology behind North Star,” he said. “Robert Hayes stole them.”
The patents were worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
If Thomas proved ownership, I would lose the leverage needed to save Hayes Aerospace.
Rachel asked whether he had documentation.
Thomas produced original engineering notebooks dated before my father filed the patents.
They appeared real.
I watched from my hospital room with Hope asleep against my chest.
For the first time, I wondered whether saving the company was the right thing to do.
My father had buried an accident.
He had stolen a wounded man’s work.
Maybe Hayes Aerospace deserved to fall.
Then Luis called.
“Six thousand employees didn’t hide that accident,” he said. “Don’t punish them for what the men at the top did.”
He was right.
We needed a third option.
I requested a private call with Thomas.
“You don’t know me,” he said.
“No, but I know what my father did to you.”
“Do you?”
“I know enough to say I’m sorry without asking you to forgive him.”
He remained silent.
I offered him half of North Star, public credit as the technology’s co-creator, and a permanent compensation fund for workers injured by company negligence.
“In exchange for helping you defeat Ethan?” he asked.
“No. In exchange for telling the truth.”
“And if the truth destroys your family’s company?”
“Then we rebuild something better.”
Thomas looked away from the camera.
When he spoke again, his voice was quieter.
“Vanessa used to believe that too.”
“Where is she?”
“With Ethan.”
My heart sank.
“She wasn’t kidnapped?”
“She staged the hotel room. Ethan needed you to believe she was afraid of him.”
“Why?”
“To make you trust the forged contract she showed you.”
I looked at Rachel.
If Vanessa’s evidence was manufactured, Lauren’s testimony could collapse with it.
Thomas leaned toward the camera.
“But Vanessa made one mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“She visited me last night.”
He held up a flash drive.
“She gave me every recording she made of Ethan.”
“Why would she betray him?”
“Because she discovered what happened to Robert’s medication.”
Thomas inserted the drive.
“Ethan didn’t ask Vanessa to replace the pills.”
May you like
He pressed play.
“He replaced them himself.”
