Chapter 11 - The Unexpected Visitor
The foundation was operating like a well-oiled machine, but peace, as I had learned, was a fragile thing.
I was reviewing the grant applications for the quarter when my assistant, Sarah, knocked on the door. She looked uneasy.
"There's a man in the lobby," she said. "He says he’s here on behalf of Ethan Grant."
My stomach dropped, but I forced my expression to remain neutral. "Did he give a name?"
"He says he's a private investigator," Sarah replied. "He says he has evidence that could help our current case, but he will only speak to you."
I glanced at the security monitor. The man was sitting in the corner, staring at the floor. He looked tired.
"Let him in," I said.
He walked into my office. He was middle-aged, wearing a worn-out coat and looking like he hadn't slept in a week.
"My name is Marcus," he said.
"You work for Ethan?"
"I used to. Until he stopped paying me three months ago."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, encrypted memory stick.
"He wasn't just stealing from you," Marcus said, his voice low. "He was working with someone else. Someone bigger."
I stared at the memory stick.
"Who?"
"I don't know the name," Marcus said. "But they are the ones who were really pulling the strings. Ethan was just the face."
I looked at the screen, seeing the shadow that had been cast over my life getting darker.
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"Why give this to me?"
"Because Ethan told me to burn it," Marcus said. "And I don't work for men like that anymore."
