CHAPTER 51: THE COMPANY THAT CAME BACK

Alexander read the message twice.

The first time, he focused on the company name. The second time, his attention settled on the person listed as its director.

Victoria.

He enlarged the registration document, checking the details again. The business had supposedly disappeared years ago, its accounts transferred and its operations closed. Yet someone had brought it back under a different name, using a structure connected to the old Blackwood subsidiary.

And Victoria was now in charge.

Amelia watched his expression.

"What does the message say?"

He lowered the phone.

"It confirms that the company connected to your father's records has been reactivated. The registration is recent, and Victoria is listed as its current director."

Amelia looked at him in disbelief.

"Victoria? The woman who used to work for you?"

"Yes."

"Are you certain it's the same person?"

"The registration details match her full name and previous business records. Jonathan is checking the supporting documents, but there's little reason to believe it's someone else."

Amelia glanced back towards Richard's room.

"Could she be trying to recover something that was hidden?"

"Possibly."

"Or protecting someone?"

Alexander looked at her. "That is another possibility."

He didn't pretend to know more than he did. It was something Amelia had learned to notice about him lately. The old Alexander would have made a decision first and explained it later. This time, he seemed willing to admit that the answers were not yet clear.

"Victoria was intelligent," he continued. "Ambitious, organised, and very good with complicated financial records. She understood how Blackwood operated, including the parts most executives never saw."

"But you don't trust her?"

Alexander took a breath.

"I once trusted her professionally. She worked closely with my father before I took over certain parts of the business. When I became CEO, she was involved in several important financial matters. But our relationship ended badly."

"What happened?"

"An internal dispute. Some records went missing, and I believed she had withheld information from me. She left shortly afterwards. I never received a complete explanation."

"Did you ask her?"

"Yes. She told me there were things I didn't understand. At the time, I thought she was avoiding responsibility."

Amelia studied him.

"And now?"

"Now I wonder whether I judged her without knowing the full story."

"Maybe you did."

He gave a faint, humourless smile.

"You don't make it easy for me to remain certain of anything."

"I'm not trying to. I'm trying to make sure we don't turn suspicion into proof."

Alexander nodded. "You're right."

They left the recovery facility shortly afterwards. During the drive, Alexander made a call to Jonathan Reed, his legal adviser.

"I need the full public registration history of the reactivated company," he said. "Every director, shareholder, registered address and change in ownership. I also want the old Northbridge records compared with the new business structure."

He listened for a moment.

"And have the legal team examine any available financial filings. I want to know whether money has moved through its accounts since registration."

Amelia glanced at him.

"One more thing," Alexander added. "Nobody approaches Victoria. Nobody accuses her, threatens her or tries to obtain information through unofficial channels. We establish the facts first."

When he ended the call, Amelia asked, "Do you think she'll know we're investigating?"

"Possibly. But we won't give her a reason to claim we're harassing her."

"Good."

He glanced at her. "You sound relieved."

"I am. I don't want another situation where someone makes decisions behind closed doors and calls it protection."

Alexander understood the reference. He didn't argue.

"I know."

At Amelia's apartment, they parted after a brief conversation. Alexander had meetings to attend, and Amelia had a design deadline she refused to postpone.

For the first time in days, she wanted to spend several hours thinking about something other than dead men, missing records and people who appeared to know more than they admitted.

Her design project was waiting.

She spread the plans across her dining table, opened her laptop and began reviewing the revised layout for the community space. She had been working on the lighting plan when an email arrived from the independent review team at Blackwood.

She opened it immediately.

The message confirmed that the altered project document was still under examination. The team had identified differences between her original submission and the later version, including changes made using an executive account. They were continuing to review the access history and would contact her when their findings were complete.

Amelia leaned back.

At least that part of her life was being handled properly.

She replied, confirming that she remained available to provide any additional documents or explanations. Then she closed the email and returned to her design.

Her phone rang a little later.

It was Ethan.

"How's the project going?" he asked.

"Slowly. I'm fighting with the lighting layout."

"That's normal. If you aren't fighting with something, you're probably not designing."

She laughed.

"That's a terrible way to encourage someone."

"It works, though. Listen, I looked at your latest draft. The flow is much better, especially around the entrance. Don't overcomplicate the ceiling."

"I wasn't going to."

"You were."

Amelia smiled. "Fine. I'll look at it again."

When the call ended, she felt lighter. It was good to speak to someone who knew her as a designer rather than as a person connected to the Blackwood family.

She worked until the afternoon light faded, making notes and adjusting the layout. For a while, the mysteries could wait.

Then her laptop chimed.

An unfamiliar email address appeared in her inbox. There was no subject line, no name and no company signature.

She almost deleted it.

But the first sentence stopped her.

You have been asking questions about the company that recently returned.

Amelia sat straighter.

She read the message carefully.

I worked for the company before it was dissolved. I know the people involved in its original operations, and I know why Victoria has returned.

A second paragraph followed.

You should understand that the money was never the only reason the company existed. Some of its records were kept separate from Blackwood because they concerned people who were never supposed to appear in official documents.

Amelia's fingers hovered over the keyboard.

She wanted to reply immediately, but she remembered Jake's warnings about connecting unknown information to unverified sources. She took a screenshot, saved the email and forwarded a copy to a separate account for preservation.

Then she called Alexander.

He answered quickly.

"Amelia?"

"I've received an email from someone claiming to have worked for the reactivated company."

His tone changed.

"What does it say?"

She read the message aloud, including the part about people who had never been supposed to appear in official documents.

"Don't reply yet," Alexander said. "Forward it to Jonathan. We'll have him preserve the original and examine the sender's details through proper channels."

"I've already saved it."

"Good. Did they give you a name?"

"No. Just a warning that they know why Victoria returned."

There was a brief silence.

"Send me a copy too," he said. "I'll compare it with the registration information."

Amelia forwarded the email.

A few seconds later, Alexander called again.

"There's another line at the bottom."

Amelia looked at her screen.

She hadn't noticed it before. The final paragraph was separated from the rest of the message by several blank lines.

She read it slowly.

"Victoria did not come back for money. She came back because someone is still alive who should not be."

Neither of them spoke.

Amelia felt a chill move through her.

"Who could that mean?" she whispered.

Alexander's voice was low.

"I don't know."

She stared at the sentence, thinking about Evelyn, Richard, her father and the years of secrets buried inside Blackwood.

Then another thought struck her.

"What if this person isn't talking about someone who disappeared?"

Alexander didn't answer immediately.

And that silence frightened her more than any threat.

Because somewhere in the history of the company, someone had been declared gone, forgotten or dead.

And someone now believed that person was still alive.