Chapter 23 - Beginning Before the End
Vera Blackwood sat at her desk rifling through papers, her fingers blistered, full of cuts from the sleepless nights.
Guilt ate like a bitch, and to make herself sleep better at night she had been drinking. Heavily.
Lining the floor behind her desk were emptied bottles of whiskey, vodka, and god knows what.
Ever since that day Vera had never slept the same. She had beat herself up over and over because she knew things could've gone differently.
Please Melissa, just forget about this thing, just leave. If I get on my knees and plead I can at least save you.
As Vera was about to open another bottle the door to the room creaked open. Two figures entered.
"Detective? You're back?"
In return the black haired man nodded his head.
"Why did you bring me here, Hiroto?" The brown haired girl, Melissa, asked the man.
"Melissa, the true culprit… the one who orchestrated everything." He paused.
Then pointed his finger.
Right at Vera Blackwood. The family friend of Regiran for 18 years.
".. Is her."
Vera closed her eyes and nodded.
"Impressive.. I truly thought it was a perfect crime." A bitter smile formed on her face in complete resignation.
Is this how it all will end? Because of this detective who couldn't even solve a damn case.
If I offer my life, will they spare Melissa?
"W-what are you talking about? V-Vera would never."
"He's right.. Melissa."
Vera paused.
"When did you figure it out? I swore I planned everything perfectly. The blame should've fell upon Gerard." She inquired.
"Well although a mountain of evidence was layered against Gerard, there were too many inconsistencies I couldn't look past." The man paced the room.
Hiroto pulled out a stack of papers. "First I viewed the files you gave me, I found it strange how your daughter was attending such a… prestigious university, when you're financial situation would never allow you to."
He cleared his throat. "No offense, I just meant the academy your daughter is attending is only occupied by high nobles, royalty, and highly important figures."
Hiroto pointed to something on the paper. "I realize that someone created a shell company and deliberately made it trace back to the Thorne Company. The shell company that supplied your daughter with a scholarship."
The Thorne Holdings company was real. Gerard's company. Used for his legitimate (and illegitimate) business.
But the subsidiary companies? The ones that actually funded Vera's daughter's scholarship?
Registration addresses didn't match. Signing authorities were different. Even the legal representatives were from different firms.
The man's lips tilted into a smug smile. "Someone wanted to make it look like Gerard was funding you, but the inconsistencies made it impossible for it to be Gerard. So then I started digging for information about you."
Hiroto turned the paper to a missing log he obtained from contacting the detective's agency. "I found it strange how the investigators went missing in reverse order. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to disappear according to the date they started investigating."
Clap!
The detective clapped his hands together. "The one thing that they all had in common before they went missing is contacting you! Each investigator was eliminated in the order they found you as a potential suspect! I expect I would be soon, if I didn't show up so quickly."
"The investigators weren't killed because they were investigating Gerard. They were killed because they figured out you were the leak."
Melissa grabbed Hiroto's arm. "Hiroto, Vera wouldn't—"
"Look at this." I showed her the handwriting analysis. "The security wards. Three different people designed them. One is Regiran. One is a professional ward specialist. And one..."
The detective pulled up Vera's authentication signature and handwriting.
Perfect match.
"Vera designed part of the security. She knew exactly how to bypass it."
"That doesn't mean she stole it. She's family—"
"The scholarship money. It traces back to a Thorne shell company, but the actual company was created 3 years ago by someone else. Someone who wanted to frame Gerard while compromising Vera."
"Who would do that?"
Good question.
Who benefits from Gerard looking guilty while Vera stays compromised?
Who has the resources to create fake shell companies?
Who has been watching this whole time?
"The Archivists."
Vera closed her eyes, a bitter frown appearing on her face. "Correct."
"Three years ago, the Archivists identified the Veridian Lens as a future target. They needed an inside agent. Someone with complete access to Regiran's work."
Melissa's face could only be described as sorrow.
"They approached her. Threatened her daughter. But they couldn't just threaten that makes people unpredictable. So they offered the carrot too. The scholarship."
Hiroto pulled up the threatening message about Vera's daughter that she'd mentioned to us.
"And they made it look like it came from Gerard's people. Made Vera think she was working against the Thornes. Made her think she was the victim."
Melissa was pale. "So Vera isn't working for Gerard?"
"No. She's working for the Archivists. But she doesn't even know it. She thinks she's being blackmailed by Gerard's organization. The Archivists used Gerard's reputation as a monster to make themselves look like the lesser evil."
Genius. Fucking genius.
"The viewing. Vera authenticated the Lens and documented everything. Not for Gerard. For the Archivists."
"The security. Vera disabled it from the inside. Made it easy for the auburn-haired operative to steal the Lens."
"The investigators. When they got too close to Vera, the Archivists eliminated them. Covered their tracks."
"And Gerard?" Melissa asked.
"Gerard really did send assassins after us. But only after the Lens was stolen. He wasn't trying to steal it, he was trying to contain the damage. Eliminate anyone who might use it against him. He believed someone was making a move."
"We've been chasing the wrong villain," he said. "Gerard is terrible. But he didn't steal the Lens. The Archivists did. Using Vera as their inside agent. And they've been manipulating everyone, Gerard, Helena, the Treylows, us to cover their tracks."
And then from the shadows a man appeared in a flash, a man with auburn hair and a Stage 6 tattoo.