Chapter 13
By seven o’clock that evening, the sun had set behind the Hudson River, casting long orange shadows across the library.
A crackling fire burned in the stone fireplace as Ethan, Clara, and Victoria sat around the mahogany coffee table.
In the center of the table lay the yellowed manila file marked Vance Senior, 1999.
Victoria used a letter opener to slice through the red federal court tape, carefully unfolding the documents inside.
The top document was an official FAA accident investigation report from June 14, 1999.
Below it was a handwritten bank transfer receipt for two million dollars, dated three days before the crash.
The sender was Thomas Montgomery.
The recipient was the chief mechanic who had serviced Richard Vance’s private twin-engine aircraft.
“He paid the mechanic to sabotage the altimeter,” Victoria whispered, her hands shaking as she read the report.
“My father didn't hit a storm,” Ethan said, his voice deadly quiet. “He flew straight into the mountain because his instruments lied.”
Clara reached out, scanning the second page of the file.
“Look at the bottom signature,” Clara pointed out, her finger landing on a witness verification line.
The signature belonged to Eleanor Vance—Ethan and Victoria’s mother.
The library went completely deathly quiet, save for the crackle of the wood fire in the hearth.
Victoria stood up so fast her leather chair slid back against the bookshelf.
“No,” Victoria gasped, shaking her head in denial. “Mom had nothing to do with this!”
“She signed as the sole beneficiary of the flight insurance policy,” Ethan noted, his eyes scanning the numbers.
“A twenty-million-dollar payout released forty-eight hours after the crash.”
The heavy double doors of the library swung open slowly.
May you like
Eleanor Vance stood in the doorway, dressed in an elegant black silk cardigan, her face pale as a ghost.
“You were never supposed to open that file, Ethan,” Eleanor said softly.
