Chapter 15: Richard’s Last Witness
Chapter 15: Richard’s Last Witness
The private jet disappeared into the clouds before midnight.
By the time federal agents reached the airfield, the runway was empty.
Only a frightened ground technician remained.
Benjamin Ross showed his badge.
"You were on duty?"
The technician nodded nervously.
"I fueled the aircraft."
"Did you see who boarded?"
"Only one man."
"Victor Kane?"
"Yes."
"Anyone else?"
The technician hesitated.
"I heard another voice inside the cabin."
"Male?"
"I... I couldn't tell."
"You never saw the passenger?"
The man shook his head.
"The windows were blacked out."
Benjamin thanked him, but as he turned away, something caught his attention.
A small object lay near the edge of the runway.
Daniel picked it up.
It was a silver cufflink.
Engraved with a raven spreading its wings.
Neither of them recognized the symbol.
Back at headquarters, the forensic team searched every database they had.
Nothing.
No corporation.
No family crest.
No military insignia.
No registered trademark.
The raven didn't exist.
Daniel sighed.
"It's like they're ghosts."
Benjamin looked at the cufflink under the light.
"Ghosts leave footprints."
Meanwhile, Grant Holloway sat alone in the mansion.
The passport still lay on the table.
The cash remained untouched.
The one-way ticket was for Buenos Aires.
Departure: 11:45 p.m.
He looked at the clock.
11:12.
He had thirty-three minutes left.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"I'm listening."
A familiar female voice spoke.
"Leave now."
"The airport?"
"Immediately."
Grant closed his eyes.
"No."
Silence.
Then the voice asked,
"Have you lost your mind?"
Grant answered quietly,
"I've spent my whole life obeying people I've never met."
"I'm done."
The call ended without another word.
Grant knew what that meant.
He had just signed his own death warrant.
The following morning, Hannah returned to Northwestern University to submit her doctoral application.
Professor Elaine Brooks smiled as Hannah handed over the completed forms.
"I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind."
"I almost did."
"What stopped you?"
Hannah looked through the office window toward the autumn campus.
"My father spent his life fighting people who believed they owned the future."
She smiled softly.
"I'm not giving them mine."
Professor Brooks accepted the application.
"Then welcome back."
For the first time in years, Hannah wasn't rebuilding her old life.
She was creating a new one.
At Carter's Table, the lunch rush had just begun when an elderly man entered.
He walked with a cane.
His navy overcoat was neatly pressed despite the cold.
Evelyn recognized him instantly.
"Frank?"
The man smiled.
"It's been a long time."
Frank Donovan had been Richard Carter's first patrol partner before Richard joined the federal task force.
Evelyn hugged him warmly.
"I thought you'd moved to Arizona."
"I did."
"So why are you here?"
Frank reached into his coat pocket and removed a yellowed envelope.
"Because I saw the news."
"And because I've carried this for twenty-three years."
Inside the envelope was a cassette tape.
Not VHS.
Audio.
Frank looked at Benjamin.
"Richard gave this to me three days before he died."
Benjamin frowned.
"You never told me."
"He made me promise."
"What promise?"
"If anything happened to him..."
"...I was to wait until Evelyn was safe."
Frank looked around the diner.
"I think she finally is."
Daniel found an old cassette player in the diner's storage room.
Everyone gathered around.
Frank inserted the tape.
A hiss of static filled the room.
Then Richard's voice returned.
Calm.
Steady.
Almost as if no time had passed.
"Frank..."
"If you're hearing this..."
"...then they killed me."
No one spoke.
Richard continued.
"Don't blame yourself."
"You couldn't have stopped it."
A pause.
Then—
"There is one witness they don't know about."
Benjamin leaned forward.
Richard spoke the next words slowly.
"Her name is Eleanor Pierce."
"She was my confidential accountant."
"She copied every ledger before I handed them to the grand jury."
Daniel froze.
"Grand jury?"
Benjamin whispered,
"There was one..."
"...twenty-three years ago."
Richard continued.
"If the case disappears..."
"...find Eleanor."
The tape clicked off.
Silence settled over the diner.
Benjamin looked at Frank.
"Where is she?"
Frank smiled sadly.
"I hoped you'd know."
Three hours later, an analyst located a single record.
Eleanor Pierce
Age: 74.
Former forensic accountant.
Last known address: Door County, Wisconsin.
Status:
Retired.
No public interviews.
No financial activity.
No driver's license renewal in five years.
Daniel frowned.
"Either she's living off the grid..."
"...or someone made sure she disappeared."
Benjamin stood.
"We're leaving now."
Across the city...
Grant arrived unexpectedly at Carter's Table.
The diner fell silent the moment he entered.
Every customer turned toward him.
Hannah stiffened.
Grant looked different.
His expensive suit was wrinkled.
Dark circles surrounded his eyes.
He hadn't shaved.
He walked slowly to Evelyn.
"I'm not here to threaten anyone."
Evelyn folded her arms.
"Then why are you here?"
Grant reached into his jacket.
Several customers immediately stood.
"It's alright," he said quietly.
He placed a thick envelope on the counter.
"What is it?" Evelyn asked.
"Everything."
Bank records.
Private emails.
Secret account numbers.
Internal Blackwood correspondence.
Grant looked directly at Hannah.
"I can't undo what I did."
"I don't expect forgiveness."
"But I can stop protecting them."
Hannah said nothing.
Grant slowly pushed the envelope closer.
"My father was right."
"We were never the people in charge."
Benjamin opened the folder.
His expression changed instantly.
"This..."
He looked at Grant.
"Where did you get this?"
Grant answered honestly.
"My father hid a second archive."
Benjamin flipped through the documents.
Then stopped on one page.
At the top was a list of twelve names.
Below them...
One final handwritten sentence.
The Chairman is never identified by name. Only by title.
Benjamin slowly looked up.
"Grant..."
"Do you know who the Chairman is?"
Grant shook his head.
"No."
"But I know someone who does."
Everyone in the diner waited.
Grant took a slow breath.
"My mother."
The room fell completely silent.
Margaret Holloway—the woman who had spent years humiliating Hannah—was no longer just an abusive mother-in-law.
She was the last living person who knew the identity of the most powerful figure behind Blackwood.
And at that exact moment...
May you like
Margaret Holloway was nowhere to be found.
End of Chapter 15
