Chapter 9 - Thomas Morgan’s Crash Was Recorded
Marcus entered the password.
HANNAH1989.
His sister’s name and birth year.
Julian had reused it.
The folder opened.
There were emails.
Invoices.
A private investigator’s report.
And an audio file.
The recording came from a call between Julian and a security contractor
named Paul Mercer.
Julian never explicitly ordered anyone killed.
Instead, he said:
“Thomas cannot reach the board meeting tomorrow.”
Mercer asked:
“How permanent?”
Julian answered:
“I don’t want questions.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Investigators listened without interpretation.
They would determine what it proved legally.
But to Claire, the meaning felt unbearable.
Another document showed Mercer had followed Thomas the night he died.
A payment went through Northstar the next morning.
Adrian left the room.
Claire found him in the hallway.
He was crying.
“I brought Thomas to Julian.”
Claire leaned against the wall.
“Yes.”
“I thought I was fixing a company problem.”
“You made a terrible mistake.”
He looked at her.
“Do you hate me?”
Claire thought about it.
“I don’t know you well enough to hate you.”
That answer surprised him.
She continued.
“But I’m not going to comfort you for what happened to my father.”
Adrian nodded.
“You shouldn’t.”
Then an agent stepped into the hall.
They had found Paul Mercer.
Alive.
May you like
Living under another name in Arizona.
And he was willing to talk.
