Chapter 8 - Vanessa’s Real Name
Vanessa wasn’t Vanessa Cole.
On the recording, my father called her Rebecca Shaw.
Daniel recognized the name immediately.
Rebecca was the daughter of one of the workers killed in the factory accident.
Ethan’s father had been the other victim.
“They knew each other before they met you,” Daniel said.
The recording was damaged, but we heard enough.
Vanessa and Ethan had approached my father years earlier. They threatened to expose safety records proving Hayes Aerospace had ignored repeated equipment warnings before the fatal accident.
My father admitted he had approved production despite those warnings.
He paid the families, buried the reports, and offered Ethan a job.
Dad thought he was making things right.
Instead, he let Ethan inside the company.
The recording skipped.
Then Vanessa’s voice returned.
“You owe us more than money, Robert.”
My father answered, “I owe your families the truth. I do not owe you my daughter.”
The audio ended.
Ethan was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but his attorney had him released before noon. Police charged him with arson and reckless endangerment, yet a judge granted bail within hours.
Money still bought speed.
Rachel obtained an emergency protective order.
I moved into a secure apartment owned by the company.
At three that afternoon, the forensic laboratory called.
The tablets from my father’s bottle were not heart medication.
They were high-dose sedatives.
Enough to slow his breathing and worsen his heart condition.
“We still can’t prove Ethan switched them,” Rachel warned.
“Vanessa might know.”
Daniel joined two halves of the metal key.
They formed a small USB device.
The hidden archive required a password.
On the screen was a single question:
What did Claire name the future?
I knew the answer.
When I was nine, Dad asked what I would call the company if it ever belonged to me.
“North Star,” I whispered.
The archive opened.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Safety reports.
Payments.
Private recordings.
Shell-company contracts.
Then we found a folder labeled SUCCESSION.
Inside was a video recorded by my father six days before his death.
He looked tired and frightened.
“Claire, if you are watching this, Ethan has probably forced your hand. The voting shares are only part of what I left you. There is a second company holding the patents that make Hayes Aerospace valuable.”
Rachel paused the video.
“Those patents are worth more than the company itself.”
Dad continued.
“The company is called North Star Technologies. You are its sole owner.”
My phone rang.
Vanessa.
I answered without speaking.
She was crying.
“Claire, Ethan knows about North Star.”
“Where are you?”
“I’ll tell you everything, but you have to protect me.”
A loud crash came through the phone.
May you like
Vanessa screamed.
Then the line went dead.
