LOGINAurora's Pov I barely slept knowing that Seraphina had tried to break into Father's safe deposit box. Lawrence arrived at my house at seven in the morning with Marcus and a full security team."Ready?" He looked serious."As ready as I'll ever be."We drove to the bank in separate cars. Lawrence didn't want us arriving together in case someone was watching. Marcus rode with me and kept scanning the streets for any signs of surveillance."Do you really think Seraphina will try something at the bank?" I asked."I think she'll do whatever it takes to stop you from seeing what's in that box. We need to be prepared for anything."The bank was a private institution that catered to wealthy clients. It was the kind of place where discretion was guaranteed and security was taken very seriously.The manager met us in the lobby. He was an older man in an expensive suit who looked like he'd been working there for decades."Miss Stanley, Mr Astor. Please follow me."He led us downstairs to the va
Marcus's Pov I'd been working for Lawrence Astor for three weeks now and it was the best decision I'd ever made. My sister needed that kidney transplant and Lawrence had kept his promise. She was scheduled for surgery next month and the doctors said her prognosis was excellent.But more than that I finally felt like I was doing something that mattered. Damien Scott had used me for years and made me feel like I was just another tool in his arsenal. Lawrence treated me like a person, like someone whose skills and intelligence actually had value.Right now those skills were focused on digging through Victor Stanley's financial records. Lawrence wanted to know everything about the man and his business dealings and I was the one tasked with finding it.I started with his old emails. Victor had been meticulous about keeping records and his email archive went back almost fifteen years. Most of it was standard business correspondence but buried in the middle I found something interesting.Mo
Aurora's Pov The threat Lawrence received should have scared me but instead it made me angry. They thought they could intimidate us into backing down. They thought we would stop digging just because they sent a scary email.They were wrong.I'd already died once because I was too trusting and too passive. This time I wasn't going to let fear control me. This time I was going to fight back.Lawrence wanted to move slowly and carefully but I knew that giving them time was dangerous. Every day we waited was another day they could use to cover their tracks or plan another attack.So I decided to force their hand.I pulled up all the information Lawrence had given me about Gerald Foster and the shell company Meridian Holdings. Then I put together a carefully worded press release about Scott Industries' connections to suspicious offshore accounts and anonymous business entities.I didn't name Foster directly, I didn't provide enough detail for anyone to trace it back to our investigation b
Lawrence's Pov The forensic analyst confirmed what I'd suspected. The photo of Victor Stanley wasn't doctored. It was real and recent which meant someone had either taken a picture of Victor within the last month or they'd staged something so convincing that even experts couldn't tell the difference.I was in my office reviewing the report when my tech team leader walked in."Mr. Astor we traced the number that sent Aurora the photo.""And?""It's registered to a burner phone but we tracked the purchase location and payment method. The phone was bought with a credit card linked to a shell company.""Which shell company?""Meridian Holdings. It's registered in Delaware and the only listed officer is a lawyer named Gerald Foster."I pulled up Foster's information. He was a corporate attorney who specialized in setting up anonymous business entities. His client list was confidential but I had ways of finding out who he worked for."Did you find any connection to Scott Industries?""Yes.
Chapter 16 – Tracing the GhostAurora's Pov I barely slept after seeing that picture of my father. Every time I closed my eyes I saw his face telling me he was alive and hiding somewhere, by the time dawn came I was exhausted but there was no way I could rest until I knew more.Lawrence had texted me at five in the morning asking me to meet him at his office. I got dressed quietly and left the house before anyone else woke up.When I arrived Lawrence was already there with his laptop open and multiple monitors showing different screens. He looked like he hadn't slept either."Show me the photo again." He held out his hand.I pulled it up on my phone and handed it to him. He studied it carefully then transferred it to his computer."I'm sending this to someone I trust. She's a forensic analyst who specializes in digital images, if this photo has been altered she'll find it.""And if it hasn't been altered?""Then we need to figure out where it was taken and when." He pulled up another
Aurora's Pov After the threat on my life, I knew I couldn't just hide and wait for Lawrence to handle everything. I needed to take action and show Damien and Seraphina that I wasn't going to be an easy target.Lawrence had given me access to some information his team had gathered about Damien's business dealings. There were emails and financial records that showed he'd been lying to investors about the pharmaceutical merger. The company he was merging with had hidden debts and legal problems that Damien had deliberately concealed. If that information became public, it would destroy his reputation and tank his stock price.So, I decided to make it public.I contacted a journalist I knew from my past life named Rachel Kim. She worked for a major business publication, and she was known for being aggressive about exposing corporate fraud. In my previous timeline, she'd written several articles about companies similar to Damien's.I called her from a burner phone that Lawrence had given







