Chapter 3 - The Ghost's Confession
The camera pushed into a tight close-up on the child’s trembling face. The boy squeezed his eyes shut, fresh tears spilling over his bruised lower eyelids, and gave a sharp, desperate nod.
"Yes, sir," the boy cried softly, his small shoulders shuddering. "Daniel Vance. He... he died three weeks ago. In the cold."
The words hit Edward like a physical blow, knocking the air straight out of his lungs. Daniel Vance. The name echoed in his mind like a thunderclap inside an empty cathedral.
Fifteen years ago, Daniel Vance was not a homeless man dying in the rain. He was a visionary engineer, Edward’s closest friend, and the true mastermind behind the revolutionary micro-processing technology that had built Edward’s multi-billion-dollar empire. But greed had poisoned Edward’s soul back then. Fearing that Daniel’s unyielding ethics would ruin a lucrative buyout deal with a ruthless defense conglomerate, Edward had orchestrated a quiet, devastating corporate coup. He framed Daniel for corporate espionage, erased his name from the patents, blocked his bank accounts, and destroyed his reputation overnight.
Edward had told himself back then that Daniel was resilient, that he would bounce back. But Daniel had crumbled under the shame. He vanished into the underbelly of the city, leaving Edward to collect the wealth, the accolades, and the silent, unbearable guilt that rot his soul from the inside out.
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And now, standing right in front of him, covered in mud and smelling of rain and despair, was Daniel’s abandoned blood.
Edward looked at the heavy gold watch on his wrist—the twin of the timepiece he had gifted Daniel on the day they founded their company. Daniel had held onto his watch through years of poverty, using it as a beacon of truth, telling his son about the man who had stolen his life.
