Chapter 29: The Debt Collector

I didn't answer Damien.

I simply opened the boardroom door and walked out.

The receptionist rose from her chair the moment she saw me.

"Mrs. Ashford... do you need your car brought around?"

"No."

"I'll walk."

She hesitated before lowering her voice.

"Please be careful outside."

"Why?"

"There's been someone waiting across the street for nearly two hours."

I looked through the glass entrance.

A black sedan.

Dark windows.

Engine running.

It wasn't one of Damien's vehicles.

"Did anyone get out?"

"Only once."

"An older gentleman."

"Grey suit."

"He asked whether you were still inside."

Victor?

No.

Victor would've called.

I thanked her and stepped outside anyway.

The sedan remained where it was.

The driver's window rolled down slightly.

"Mrs. Ashford?"

The voice was unfamiliar.

"Who are you?"

"Someone carrying your brother's debt."

I stopped walking.

"Nathaniel didn't owe anyone money."

The man smiled.

"Not financial debt."

"A favour."

"Get in."

"No."

"Then we'll talk here."

He stepped out of the car.

Late sixties.

Neatly combed silver hair.

A walking cane that looked far too expensive to be decorative.

"Arthur Sloan," he introduced himself.

"Your brother once saved my company."

"I've been trying to return the favour ever since."

"You're three years late."

"Not by choice."

He reached into his coat.

Instinctively I stepped back.

"Easy," he said.

"It's only a photograph."

He handed it to me.

Nathaniel.

Standing beside Arthur.

Both smiling.

The date stamped across the bottom read four days before the crash.

"Where was this taken?"

"Manchester Hotel."

"Private dining room."

"He came asking questions about Ashford Holdings."

"Did he tell you why?"

"Not directly."

"He only asked whether I'd ever heard of Raven Capital."

Again.

That name refused to disappear.

"Had you?"

"Unfortunately."

Arthur's expression darkened.

"Raven Capital doesn't invest."

"It hides investments."

"Meaning?"

"Silent ownership."

"They buy companies without appearing on paper."

"Layers of shell corporations."

"Nominee directors."

"Invisible shareholders."

"Nathaniel believed someone behind Raven Capital was controlling businesses across the city."

"Including Ashford Holdings?"

"He wasn't certain."

"Neither am I."

"Then why tell me?"

"Because yesterday someone broke into my office."

"Nothing valuable disappeared."

"Except one file."

"Which file?"

"Nathaniel's."

The city noise suddenly seemed distant.

"Whoever took it already knows you're investigating."

"They've known for days."

"No."

"They've known for years."

"They were simply waiting for you to begin."

"Why?"

"Because now you'll lead them to everything Nathaniel hid."

My stomach tightened.

Locker 218.

Victor.

The recording.

The missing page.

They weren't chasing evidence.

They were following me.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Arthur nodded slowly.

"You don't."

"That's the unfortunate part."

"Trust has become very expensive."

"Then why approach me publicly?"

"Because private meetings have a habit of ending badly."

A black SUV pulled up beside the pavement.

The rear door opened.

"Mrs. Ashford."

One of Damien's security officers stepped out.

"Mr. Ashford instructed us to escort you home."

"I didn't ask for an escort."

"No."

"He insisted."

Arthur chuckled softly.

"Your husband certainly knows how to make an entrance."

"He's not my concern."

"Perhaps."

"But you're still his biggest weakness."

"Excuse me?"

"Nathaniel wasn't the only person who investigated Raven Capital."

"Years ago, Damien did the same."

"He stopped suddenly."

"Do you know why?"

"No."

"Find out."

"That answer is worth more than every document your brother left behind."

Arthur handed me a plain white envelope.

"Don't open this until you're alone."

"What's inside?"

"A debt repaid."

Without another word he returned to his sedan.

Within seconds the vehicle disappeared into traffic.

The security officer waited patiently.

"Home, Mrs. Ashford?"

"Yes."

The drive back to the estate was silent.

Halfway there my phone vibrated.

Victor Hayes.

"Arthur found you first," he said.

"You know him?"

"For twenty years."

"Can I trust him?"

"As much as you trust me."

"That's not an answer."

"No."

"It's the best one I can give."

"Did Nathaniel owe him something?"

"Quite the opposite."

"Arthur owed Nathaniel his life."

"Then why call it a debt?"

"Because guilt is easier to explain than gratitude."

The call ended before I could ask another question.

When I reached the estate, Rose met me at the entrance.

"Madam... someone has been waiting for you."

"Who?"

"Mr. Elias."

I looked toward the drawing room.

Elias stood beside the fireplace.

The moment he saw me, relief crossed his face.

"I thought you wouldn't come back today," he admitted.

"Why are you here?"

"Because someone broke into my office last night."

"They didn't steal money."

"They stole every file connected to your brother."

My heartbeat slowed again.

Another missing file.

Another search.

"Did they leave anything?"

"Yes."

He reached into his jacket.

Not a folder.

Not a photograph.

A single chess piece.

A black king.

"Do you recognise it?"

I stared at the carved wooden piece.

Then memories returned.

Nathaniel and I used to play chess every Sunday.

Whenever he thought someone was manipulating the game, he always picked up the black king and said the same sentence.

"Never chase the queen," I whispered.

"Find the hand moving the king."

Elias nodded.

"That exact sentence was written underneath the piece."

"Whoever broke into my office wanted you to read it."

I looked down at the sealed envelope Arthur had given me.

Then at the black king resting in Elias's hand.

Two strangers.

Two warnings.

Both pointing toward the same invisible player.

That night, alone in the guest room, I finally opened Arthur Sloan's envelope.

Inside wasn't money.

It wasn't a letter.

It was an original share certificate dated twenty-three years earlier.

Across the bottom, beneath three faded signatures, one name appeared as the largest silent shareholder.

Ashford Holdings.

Owner:

Raven Capital.