Chapter 4 - Uncovering the Fatal Wire
By 2:00 PM that afternoon, Gavin’s world was crumbling at hyper-speed.
The news of the boardroom disaster was broadcasting across every financial news channel in the country. Stock in Summit Operations LLC plummeted to zero, while banks froze Gavin’s personal checking accounts following an emergency petition filed by Arthur Vance.
I sat in my father’s former office on the top floor of the Apex tower. The panoramic windows overlooked the Phoenix skyline. I was reviewing the financial records provided by our chief forensic auditor, Evelyn Reed.
“Naomi,” Evelyn said, tapping a red line on her monitor. “We found the smoking gun regarding your father’s crash.”
I leaned forward, my stomach tightening. “Tell me.”
“Four days before Ross’s car went over the cliff on Highway 9,” Evelyn explained, “a secret offshore wire transfer of $500,000 was executed from a shell account in Panama registered to Celina Barrett.”
“Celina?” I asked, surprised. “Not Gavin?”
“Celina was the financial intermediary,” Evelyn revealed. “The recipient of that $500,000 wire was a man named Marcus Kane—a disgraced former automotive engineer who currently works as the head mechanic at the private garage where your father kept his vintage car collection.”
A cold chill ran down my spine.
My father loved driving his restored 1969 Shelby Mustang along the mountain roads on Sunday mornings. It was the only time he drove without his private security team.
“Where is Marcus Kane now?” I asked.
“He booked a one-way flight to Costa Rica departing from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport at 8:00 PM tonight,” Evelyn said.
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I pulled out my phone and dialed Detective Raymond Cruz of the Phoenix Homicide Division—a veteran detective who had been suspicious of my father’s crash from the very beginning.
“Detective Cruz,” I said firmly. “I have the paper trail proving my father was murdered. And the hitman is at Sky Harbor right now.”
