2025-12-30 00:10:00CloudTech Systems flew Damien and Marcus to their Silicon Valley headquarters first class. It was Damien's first time in California.
The campus was impressive beyond anything he had imagined. Glass buildings surrounded by manicured gardens and sleek modern sculptures.Everything LedgerEase was not. Professional, polished, scaled to perfection.They were greeted by Patricia Wong herself. The CEO was in her fifties with sharp eyes and a firm handshake."Welcome to CloudTech. I have been following your work closely and I am very impressed."She led them through the campus pointing out features. "We started in a garage twenty years ago. Now we serve clients in forty countries."The conference room had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the valley. A team of executives waited inside.Patricia got straight to business. "LedgerEase solves a real problem beautifully. You have elegant code and strong user growth.""Tha
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CHAPTER 89
Damien called Richard from the hotel that night. His hands shook as he dialed and he could barely keep his voice steady."Ashley thinks her attorney is planning something. He knows about my custody case. Details he should not have access to."Richard was quiet for three seconds. "Tell me everything."Damien recounted the conversation. Gerald Hutchinson is pushing for two million dollars. The comments about Emma. The timing of it all."I need you to dig into this guy. Find out who he is and what he is really after.""I will start tonight."Richard worked fast. By morning, he had a file on Gerald Hutchinson that made Damien's stomach turn.They met for breakfast at Damien's hotel. Richard spread documents across the table like evidence at a crime scene."Hutchinson specializes in estate disputes but his methods are questionable at best."Richard pulled out a printout from the Pennsylvania Bar Association
CHAPTER 88
They ordered more coffee and stayed in the café as the afternoon turned to evening. Two strangers connected by a father who had failed them both in different ways.Ashley wrapped her hands around her cup. The warmth seemed to steady her as she began to talk."I grew up knowing I had a father who sent checks but never visited. Never called on my birthday. Never showed up."Damien listened without interrupting. He owed her that much."My mother would tell me stories about him. How charming he was when they met. How he promised to take care of us."Ashley's voice was soft but steady. Years of therapy had probably helped her tell this story without breaking."But the promises stopped when I was still a baby. The checks came every month like clockwork but nothing else. No cards. No phone calls. Nothing."She looked at Damien. "I spent my whole childhood thinking I was not good enough for him to love."The words hit h
CHAPTER 87
Damien spent the next three days in his apartment going through boxes of his mother's old papers. He was searching for answers that might explain why she had done what she did.The boxes smelled like dust and old perfume. Each document he touched felt like he was reaching back through time to a woman he thought he knew.Bank statements from 2008 showed their account balance dropping month by month. Medical bills from neurologists and specialists piled up in neat folders his mother had labeled carefully.There were letters from collection agencies, past due notices from the mortgage company, and credit card statements with minimum payments circled in red pen.His mother had been organized even in her desperation. Everything was filed, dated, and sorted.On the fourth day, Damien found something different. A leather-bound journal was tucked beneath a stack of medical records from his father's Alzheimer's diagnosis.The cover was wo
CHAPTER 86
Richard's handwriting expert arrived at the office three days after the Philadelphia meeting. Dr. Helen Martinez was a woman in her sixties with brown hair and reading glasses hanging from a chain around her neck.She spread the insurance documents across Richard's conference table like a surgeon preparing for an operation. Damien watched her work with a magnifying glass and measurement tools."The signature on the beneficiary change form shows several irregularities," Dr. Martinez began. She pointed to the capital W in William's name. "Notice how the loop here is too wide compared to authenticated samples from the same period."Damien leaned closer. The difference was subtle but once she pointed it out, he could not unsee it."The pressure is also inconsistent. Your father's authentic signatures show steady pressure throughout. This signature has hesitation marks."Dr. Martinez pulled out three other documents with William's verified signature from 2008. Bank statements and medical
CHAPTER 85
Richard stared at the threatening text message on Damien's phone. His expression hardened but his voice stayed calm."This changes everything. Screenshot that message and forward it to me immediately."Damien's hands shook as he followed the instructions. "They are threatening my daughter.""Which means they are desperate or stupid. Either way, we can use this."Richard called his investigator and explained the situation. Within minutes, arrangements were made to increase security around Emma's school."But I think we need to meet Ashley face to face," Richard said after hanging up. "We need to understand what she really wants.""After that text message? She just threatened Emma.""That text might not have come from her. Gerald Hutchinson has a reputation for dirty tactics but threatening children crosses a line even for him."Damien wanted to argue but Richard's logic made sense. "So what do you suggest?"<
CHAPTER 84
Damien stood frozen in Simone's kitchen with the phone pressed against his ear. His mind struggled to process what Sandra Morrison had just said.His father never mentioned a first wife. As far as Damien knew, his father married his mother young, had Damien, and that was it."I am sorry, can you repeat that?" Damien's voice sounded distant to his own ears.Sandra Morrison's tone was patient. "Your father, William Webb, was briefly married in his early twenties to a woman named Catherine Webb.""That is impossible. My mother was his only wife.""I understand this is shocking but I have the marriage certificate and divorce decree. They married when William was twenty-three years old."Damien leaned against the counter. Simone moved closer and placed a hand on his shoulder."They had a daughter named Ashley before divorcing. William paid child support but had minimal contact with her."A daughter. His father had an
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