Chapter 17 - The Unsettled Account
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A year after the trial, I received an official notice from the State Department of Corrections.
Adrian had been transferred to a medium-security facility two hours north of the city. According to the notice, he had repeatedly submitted formal requests to see me, all of which had been automatically rejected per my standing protective order.
I thought that was the end of it.
On a chilly October evening, I was sitting alone in my office finishing up a grant proposal for the foundation.
The building was quiet, the staff having gone home hours ago.
My desk phone rang. The caller ID displayed an encrypted, unlisted number.
I hesitated for a moment before picking up the receiver. “Evelyn Harper.”
There was a long pause on the line, filled only with the faint sound of static and deep, measured breathing.
“You thought you won, didn't you, Evelyn?” a raspy, unfamiliar voice spoke softly through the receiver.
My hand froze on the desk. It wasn't Adrian's voice. It was deeper, older, and far more sinister.
“Who is this?” I asked coldly, keeping my voice completely steady.
“Adrian was just a middleman, my dear,” the voice chuckles softly—a dry, terrifying sound. “He was foolish, sloppy, and let his ego get in the way. But the merger he was setting up... that belonged to people who don't go to prison.”
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My pulse quickened slightly, but I kept my tone iron-clad. “If this is a threat, this line is being recorded.”
“Oh, I know it is,” the man replied smoothly. “I just wanted you to know that the files you took from his drive didn't just contain his secrets. You opened a door you shouldn't have opened.”
