Chapter 5 - The Man in the Darkness
Screams erupted throughout the ballroom.
Employees ducked beneath tables.
Crystal glasses shattered against the marble floor.
Several executives instinctively threw themselves behind the stage.
The emergency lights painted the entire ballroom in an eerie crimson glow.
For two long seconds...
No one knew who had fired the shot.
"Nobody move!"
Edward's voice thundered across the room.
Security officers immediately formed a protective circle around him and Clara.
One attorney shouted,
"Find the shooter!"
Flashlights swept across the ballroom.
The beam landed on the stage.
Then...
On the giant company logo.
The bullet had struck the logo directly through its center.
No one had been hit.
It had been a warning.
Not an attack.
Julian slowly stood from behind the podium.
His face was pale.
"What the hell is happening?"
No one answered.
Instead, another sound echoed through the ballroom.
Applause.
Slow.
Steady.
Mocking.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Everyone turned toward the rear balcony.
A tall man dressed entirely in black stood in the shadows.
His face remained hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat.
One gloved hand rested casually on the railing.
The other held...
The missing silver evidence case.
Edward narrowed his eyes.
"So..."
"You finally decided to show yourself."
The stranger chuckled.
"I was already here."
Clara frowned.
"You know him?"
Edward didn't answer immediately.
His silence said enough.
The man lifted the evidence case slightly.
"Looking for this?"
Security officers aimed their weapons.
"Put it down!"
The stranger laughed again.
"You won't shoot."
"You need what's inside."
Edward spoke calmly.
"Who sent you?"
The stranger tilted his head.
"You already know."
"No."
"I only know who paid you."
A brief silence followed.
Then the man smiled.
"You've gotten old, Edward."
Several board members looked visibly confused.
One whispered,
"They know each other..."
The stranger continued.
"You spent twenty-five years protecting one little book."
"And yet..."
"I walked away with it in less than fifteen minutes."
Edward's eyes hardened.
"You don't have the ledger."
"Don't I?"
The man slowly opened the evidence case.
It was empty.
Gasps filled the ballroom.
Julian stared.
Sienna covered her mouth.
Clara felt a chill run through her body.
The evidence case had been stolen...
But the ledger wasn't inside.
Edward smiled for the first time that evening.
"A clever distraction."
The stranger's smile disappeared.
Edward continued,
"You stole the wrong case."
For the first time...
The mysterious man's confidence cracked.
"What?"
Edward calmly reached beneath his coat.
He produced another leather folder.
Dark brown.
Old.
Worn with age.
"The real ledger..."
"...never left my possession."
The ballroom fell silent.
The stranger's expression turned cold.
"So you've been testing us."
"No."
Edward corrected.
"I've been identifying everyone involved."
Julian suddenly looked at the mysterious man.
Recognition flashed across his face.
Only for an instant.
But Clara saw it.
So did Edward.
Edward turned slowly toward Julian.
"You know him."
Julian immediately shook his head.
"I've never seen him before."
"Liar."
The stranger laughed loudly.
"Tell them, Julian."
"Tell them where we first met."
Julian's breathing became uneven.
"I don't know you."
The man removed one glove.
On the back of his right hand...
A faded burn scar shaped like a crescent moon.
Julian's eyes widened.
"No..."
he whispered.
"It can't be."
The stranger slowly removed his hat.
His face came into view.
Clara gasped.
Edward's grip tightened around the ledger.
Even the attorneys looked stunned.
One elderly board member whispered in disbelief,
"I attended his funeral..."
The stranger smiled.
May you like
"Apparently..."
"My funeral was greatly exaggerated."
