Chapter 7 - THE MAN IN THE MIRROR
Maya confronted Richard.
“You were at the gala.”
“No.”
“Your fingerprint was on Eleanor’s glass.”
Richard looked genuinely surprised.
“That’s impossible.”
Daniel watched him carefully.
“Where were you at seven tonight?”
“Driving from Milwaukee.”
“Proof?”
“Toll cameras.”
Daniel checked.
Richard was telling the truth.
Maya frowned.
“Then how did your fingerprint get there?”
Richard slowly looked at Daniel.
“The same way your face appeared in Arthur’s office.”
Daniel went still.
Someone was replicating them.
Faces.
Fingerprints.
Access credentials.
Not perfectly.
But well enough to fool cameras and security systems.
Richard opened Isabel’s notebook.
“Charles funded something in the late nineties.”
“What?”
“A private intelligence company.”
“Name?”
“Mirror Group.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“I’ve heard of them.”
Maya looked at him.
“Who are they?”
“Corporate espionage.”
“Identity fabrication.”
“Surveillance.”
“Blackmail.”
Richard nodded.
“Charles used them to destroy people who threatened Sterling interests.”
Maya stared at the notebook.
“And Eleanor?”
Richard pointed to an entry.
E. VALE — MIRROR — $4.8M.
Maya frowned.
“Vale?”
Richard looked at her.
“Eleanor’s maiden name wasn’t Eleanor Grant.”
“Then what was it?”
“Eleanor Vale.”
Daniel stared.
Richard continued.
“Her father founded Mirror Group.”
The room went silent.
Maya finally understood.
Eleanor had not married into the Sterling family by accident.
She had been raised inside the machinery Charles Sterling used to hide his crimes.
Then Maya found another entry.
She stopped.
“Arthur.”
Richard looked.
The entry read:
A.S. — PHASE FOUR — AUGUST 3.
Today.
Maya whispered.
“What is Phase Four?”
Richard turned several pages.
They were blank.
Then Daniel’s phone rang.
Arthur had been released on emergency bond.
They met him outside the courthouse.
Maya immediately showed him the notebook.
Arthur stared at the date.
August 3.
Today.
His phone buzzed.
A video arrived.
Eleanor appeared on-screen.
Behind her stood a young woman tied to a chair.
Arthur’s face collapsed.
“Claire.”
Maya looked at him.
“Who is she?”
Arthur could barely speak.
“My daughter.”
Maya stared.
Arthur had never mentioned a daughter.
Eleanor leaned toward the camera.
“Phase Four begins now.”
Then Claire lifted her face.
May you like
And whispered:
“Dad, don’t give her the company.”
