CHAPTER 12 — The Perfect Forgery
CHAPTER 12 — The Perfect Forgery
The room fell into stunned silence.
Every eye was fixed on the tablet in Marcus's hands.
There it was.
Mariana Escalante's digital signature.
Perfect.
Flawless.
Authenticated by the company's highest-level security system.
Mariana looked at Victor.
"I didn't authorize that transfer."
Victor didn't hesitate.
"I know."
Alejandro stepped forward.
"Can anyone duplicate her signature?"
Marcus answered first.
"Not legally."
Victor corrected him.
"Not... unless someone had access to the original biometric encryption."
The implication hit everyone at once.
This wasn't an outside hacker.
This was someone who had penetrated the deepest level of Escalante Global's security.
Victor turned to the cybersecurity director.
"I want every authentication log from the last forty-eight hours."
The director nodded.
"We're already pulling them."
"How long?"
"Ten minutes."
Victor looked at Mariana.
"If this was forged..."
"They had help."
Meanwhile...
Miles away, inside the old Collins mansion...
Andrew stood alone in Richard's study.
The room had been untouched since his father's funeral.
He slowly ran his fingers across the old mahogany desk.
His father's reading glasses still rested beside an unfinished crossword puzzle.
For years, Andrew had avoided this room.
Now...
It was the only place that felt honest.
He opened the top drawer.
Nothing unusual.
The second drawer.
Old contracts.
Family photographs.
The third drawer...
Locked.
Andrew frowned.
He searched the desk until he found a tiny brass key taped beneath the underside of the drawer.
Richard's habit.
Always hiding important things in plain sight.
The lock clicked open.
Inside was a leather journal.
The first page read:
"Private Notes — Never For Margaret."
Andrew's heartbeat quickened.
Back at Escalante Headquarters...
The cybersecurity team rushed into the conference room.
"We found something."
Victor stood immediately.
"What?"
The technician displayed a timeline on the main screen.
"The authorization originated inside the building."
Marcus frowned.
"Which office?"
The technician zoomed in.
Floor 62.
Executive Wing.
Mariana's private office.
Silence.
Mariana slowly shook her head.
"I wasn't even here."
The technician nodded.
"We know."
"Security cameras confirm that."
"So how?"
The technician enlarged another section.
"There was a second access."
Victor leaned closer.
"A duplicate biometric profile."
"No..."
The technician corrected him.
"An identical one."
Alejandro's face darkened.
"That's impossible."
"Unless..."
Victor finished the sentence.
"...someone copied Mariana's biometrics."
Mariana remembered something.
Two years earlier.
Andrew had convinced her to upgrade the company's security system.
A private contractor had spent several days scanning her fingerprints, retina, and voiceprint.
She frowned.
"The contractor."
Victor immediately turned.
"What contractor?"
"I don't remember the company's name."
Marcus was already checking procurement records.
Thirty seconds later...
He looked up.
"The company no longer exists."
Victor narrowed his eyes.
"When was it dissolved?"
"Three weeks after the installation."
Silence.
It had been a setup from the very beginning.
Andrew sat at his father's desk, turning the pages of the journal.
Most entries were ordinary.
Business meetings.
Board decisions.
Family events.
Then...
One page had been marked with a red ribbon.
The handwriting changed.
It was urgent.
Andrew still believes success belongs to him.
He has no idea someone is quietly buying his loyalty.
Margaret meets them every month.
She doesn't know I'm watching.
Andrew's hands trembled.
He kept reading.
If I disappear...
The Foundation is only a distraction.
The real operation is called Project Legacy.
Project Legacy.
He had never heard the name before.
Suddenly...
A folded photograph slipped from between the pages.
Andrew picked it up.
His heart stopped.
The photograph showed a charity gala from five years earlier.
Standing together were:
Richard Collins.
Alejandro Escalante.
Edward Grayson.
Margaret.
And...
A tall man whose face had been deliberately scratched out with a knife.
Only one detail remained untouched.
A distinctive silver pocket watch hanging from his vest.
Andrew frowned.
He knew that watch.
But from where?
At headquarters...
The technicians finally restored the building's deleted surveillance footage.
Victor watched carefully.
The hallway outside Mariana's office appeared.
The timestamp read:
8:14 PM
The footage showed a maintenance worker pushing a utility cart.
Ordinary.
Forgettable.
Marcus frowned.
"Stop."
The technician froze the image.
"What?"
Marcus pointed at the worker's shoes.
"Those aren't maintenance boots."
Everyone looked closer.
Italian leather dress shoes.
Hidden beneath blue coveralls.
Mariana whispered,
"Zoom in."
The technician enlarged the image.
The worker wore gloves.
A cap.
A face mask.
No visible features.
But then—
As he reached for Mariana's office door...
His sleeve slid back.
Revealing a tattoo.
A black raven with spread wings.
Marcus immediately recognized it.
"I've seen that symbol."
Victor looked at him.
"Where?"
"Interpol."
"It's used by a private criminal network."
Alejandro folded his arms.
"So the Chairman has mercenaries."
Marcus slowly shook his head.
"Worse."
"They have professionals."
Just then...
Emily hurried into the room.
"I found something."
She held up an old family album.
"What is it?"
"My father's birthday party."
"No..."
She flipped through several pages.
"There."
She pointed at one photograph.
Richard was laughing.
Andrew stood beside him.
Margaret smiled for the camera.
And behind them...
A waiter carrying champagne.
Emily looked at Mariana.
"Look at the waiter's vest."
Everyone leaned closer.
Hanging from the vest pocket...
A silver pocket watch.
Exactly like the one in Richard's hidden photograph.
The same watch.
The same man.
Different identity.
Different disguise.
Marcus looked grim.
"Whoever he is..."
"He's been inside both families for years."
Before anyone could respond—
Every light in the conference room suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the floor.
Emergency alarms screamed through the building.
The backup generator failed.
Then...
A calm male voice echoed through every speaker in Escalante Global Headquarters.
"Good evening... Mariana."
The voice was distorted.
But confident.
"You've been looking for me."
A long pause followed.
Then the man laughed.
"You may call me..."
"...The Chairman."
Mariana's eyes narrowed.
The mysterious voice continued.
"You've inherited your father's empire."
"But tonight..."
"I'm taking it back."
At that exact moment, every monitor in the room flashed red.
One message appeared on every screen.
ESCALANTE GLOBAL SECURITY OVERRIDE
ACCESS GRANTED
WELCOME, CHAIRMAN
The impossible had happened.
May you like
Someone had just taken control of Mariana's entire empire... from inside her own headquarters.
End of Chapter 12
