2026-06-25 15:10:33The rain hadn't stopped by the time Sebastian reached his apartment building. The building was old and stained. The elevator had been broken for months. The landlord kept promising repairs, but nobody believed him anymore.
Sebastian was climbing the stairs slowly, his mind still busy recalling the memory of the woman offering one hundred thousand dollars for a debt file worth three dollars and then the warning that someone knew where he lived.
The words refused to leave his mind as reaching his floor he unlocked the door and stepped inside. The apartment was small with one bedroom, one couch and one table. That was all.
Three months ago, he had lived in a luxury apartment overlooking downtown, he drove a vehicle allowed by his company to him, people returned his calls. He chuckled realizing how quickly success disappeared.
The moment the accusations surfaced, everything collapsed instantly like someone flipping a switch. Sebastian dropped onto the couch, feeling all exhausted.
For the first time in a while, silence surrounded him. There were no usual investors mocking, laughing or whispering about him. Just pure silence. His eyes drifted toward a framed photograph sitting on a nearby shelf.
There were four people in the picture. Sebastian, Nathan Brooks, Marcus Hale and another colleague of his. Marcus was the founder of the Blackstone Asset Recovery group, the one who had treated Sebastian like his own family once.
Sebastian passed a faint smile recalling Marcus hadn't even called him once when Sebastian had given him five years of loyalty, solving impossible cases for him, five years of building the company's reputation and when the accusation arrived there was no question, no investigation, no support from his side, only silence.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Three loud bangs and Sebastian frowned because nobody really visited him anymore. Another knock followed harder this time and he stood and opened the door.
His landlord, Mr.Cooper was waiting outside, looking perpetually annoyed in his late fifties.
“You got my messages ?”
Sebastian already knew where this was going. “Rent.”
“Exactly.” The landlord folded his arms. “You're two weeks late.”
“I know.”
“And?”
Sebastian stayed silent because there was not much to say.
The landlord sighed dramatically. “You know, I tried helping you.”
His statement almost made Sebastian laugh inside his mind because threatening eviction every three days wasn't called helping anybody.
“I gave you extra time.”
“One week.”
“That's extra.” The landlord's eyes swept across the apartment and his expression changed. “Oh!”
Sebastian knew that look of recognition and disgust because everyone gave him that look now. It seemed like the landlord suddenly remembered who he was. A fraud investigator, the disgraced professional man from the news.
Mr.Cooper shook his head. “I didn't realize it was true.”
“What was true ?” Sebastian's jaws clenched.
“The fraud charges on you.”
“There were no charges.”
“Sure.” The landlord snorted.
Sebastian looked away because trying to explain never worked as people preferred headlines which required less thinking.
“I want my money by tomorrow.” Mr.Cooper's voice hardened.
“I need more time.”
“You've had time.”
“I'll pay.”
The landlord laughed hard as the sound echoed through the hallway. “With what ?”
The question landed harder than it should have because Sebastian didn't have an answer and Mr. Cooper saw it immediately that made his smile worse.
“If you had money, you wouldn't be living here.” He smirked, lifting his eyebrows at him.
The doors nearby opened slightly as slowly the neighbors enjoyed watching, judging and listening to their conversation.
Sebastian felt heat rise in his chest the moment he witnessed nearby neighbors enjoying his situation while mocking at him.
“People like you always think you're special.”Mr.Cooper lowered his voice. “Then reality catches up.”
With that he turned and walked away while Sebastian said nothing in response and kept his head lowered. The neighbouring doors closed one after another and like this the audience enjoying his miserable state was finally gone as the performance was over.
Sebastian shut the door behind him and leaned against it and for a moment he stood like that there, all alone. Suddenly his phone buzzed and a message appeared from an unknown sender.
For a second , hope flickered inside him assuming maybe it was information about the debt file or maybe it was another buyer. Instead, it was a news article attached without any explanation.
Sebastian opened it and his expression darkened as the article was three months old. The very day, his career was ruined. The headline read :
FINANCIAL INVESTIGATOR LINKED TO MISSING CORPORATE ASSETS
Beneath it was his photograph. The photograph he hated the most because it wasn't taken at work. It was taken when he was arrested. The article had received over two million views. He couldn't believe his eyes as now he realized that millions of strangers knew his face and who believed he was guilty.
His grip tightened around the phone as another message arrived and this one contained only a single sentence.
We know what you bought .
Sebastian's blood ran cold reading the message and he looked toward the window assuming someone was watching his every move but there was nothing.
His gaze dropped to the debt file resting on the table. This was a mysterious asset with impossible valuation. None of it made sense to Sebastian yet one thing was becoming clear to him that the debt wasn't valuable because of money. It was valuable because somebody desperately wanted it hidden.
The silver glowing words suddenly appeared again brighter than before in front of his eyes.
[ Asset Reassessment Complete ]
[ Ownership Linked Discovered ]
Sebastian stepped closer as his heart pounded with every step he was taking as the message continued.
[ Original Secured Asset Located ]
And a new line appeared below it with just an address. There was no explanation, no details, only a location on the eastern side of the city and then one final warning appeared which made Sebastian's face lose all his color.
[Do not visit alone.]
[Current Claimants : 4]
[One claimant is already waiting there.]
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64. Linda Foster
Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, replacing the previous night's rain with a clear blue sky.Sebastian woke earlier than usual.His first action was not opening the anonymous folder.Instead, he made breakfast, reviewed the notes he had written the night before, and reread them one final time.He drew a line beneath the final entry.Never allow new evidence to erase old evidence.Only after closing the notebook did he leave his apartment. The Botanical Garden occupied several acres near the eastern edge of the city. Families wandered along stone pathways while gardeners trimmed flowerbeds beneath rows of maple trees. Elder volunteers greeted visitors with warm smiles, handing out maps and answering questions.The peaceful surroundings felt strangely disconnected from the investigation consuming Sebastian's thoughts.He stopped at the visitor information desk. A volunteer wearing a green apron looked up and smiled. "Good morning. May I help you?""Good morning," Sebastian
63. The Wrong Answer
Sebastian remained still beside the dining table, the open document case resting in front of him. The apartment was so quiet that he could hear the steady ticking of the wall clock above the kitchen doorway.His eyes stayed fixed on the photocopied document and across the top, in faded gray lettering, were the words:Graystone LogisticsReceiving and Audit UnitThe timing was too perfect.One hour ago, he had identified a possible meaning for the initials R.A.U. Now someone had anonymously delivered a document confirming exactly that.Instead of satisfaction, uneasiness settled over him.He pulled his chair back and sat down slowly.His gaze never left the folder.Finally, he whispered to himself. "If I were trying to manipulate an investigation..." He paused. "...what would I do?"The answer came almost immediately."I would give the investigator exactly what he wanted to find."Sebastian did not touch the document. Instead, he reached for his phone and opened the camera application.He
62. The Initials
Sebastian remained standing beneath the entrance canopy of his apartment building long after the cab disappeared around the corner.Rainwater dripped steadily from the edge of the roof, splashing against the concrete walkway below. Residents hurried past him carrying groceries and briefcases, eager to escape the weather, but he barely noticed them.His attention remained fixed on the photograph Evelyn had sent.Edward Gray stood near the center of the loading dock, his posture straight and composed. Beside him, a man held a clipboard while another rested one hand on a steel case stamped with the faded initials R.A.U.Three letters with no explanation. Yet somehow, they had survived on a photograph that Edward had chosen to keep.Sebastian finally slipped the phone into his pocket and walked inside.His apartment greeted him with familiar silence.He locked the door, hung his damp jacket near the entrance, and placed his backpack carefully on the dining table.Instead of opening his fath
61. Evelyn's Discovery
The evening rain had settled into a gentle drizzle by the time Sebastian hailed a cab.He slid into the back seat, closed the door quietly behind him, and gave the driver his apartment address. The driver acknowledged him with a nod before pulling away from the curb and merging into the slow-moving traffic.Sebastian rested his backpack beside him instead of opening it immediately. Today's investigation had yielded more than he expected.A forged authorization.A missing archive. An anonymous warning.And now Marcus had confirmed that David had once warned him about people who manipulated institutions through paperwork instead of force.The pieces were no longer scattered randomly.They were beginning to align.He took out his phone to finally call Evelyn and just in one ring she received it."Hi, Evelyn.""I'm glad you finally called," Evelyn replied. Relief softened her voice, though Sebastian could hear exhaustion beneath it. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten.""I'm sorry,"
60. The Courier Receipt
Sebastian waited until he reached a quiet side street before taking out his phone.The evening traffic had begun to thicken, and the sounds of engines and distant horns blended into a steady rhythm around him. A row of small cafes lined one side of the street, while a stationery shop and a travel agency occupied the other.He looked at the business hours displayed on the receipt.City Express Courier – Central BranchOpen until 7:00 p.m.He checked the time.It was just after six.He had enough time.Instead of calling Evelyn immediately, he sent her a brief message.I'm following a lead. I'll call you as soon as I can. Don't discuss the documents with anyone until then.Her reply came almost instantly.I won't. Please be careful.Sebastian smiled faintly before slipping the phone back into his pocket. He always thought after his father's demise he was all alone. There was no one who could take care of him, so he shouldn't rely on others but as soon as Evelyn entered his life, things alr
59. The Pattern Behind the Permission
For several moments, none of them spoke.The office suddenly felt smaller than it had a few minutes earlier. Outside, muted voices drifted through the closed door as library visitors moved along the corridor, completely unaware that inside the Director's office, three people had just connected events separated by more than a decade.Director Smith broke the silence first.He slowly sat down behind his desk and folded his hands together."If your bank manager is telling the truth," he said carefully, "then someone is still using the same method."Sebastian nodded. "I believe so."He chose his next words with care. "I'm not saying it's the same person."Director Smith appreciated the distinction."But you believe it's the same pattern.""Yes."Meera looked from one man to the other before speaking. "What exactly is the pattern?"Sebastian picked up his notebook and turned it toward them. He drew two columns.At the top of the first, he wrote:Twelve Years AgoAt the top of the second, he
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