Chapter 3 - The Sealed Files
Two days later, inside a quiet booth at a downtown diner, Nathan sat across from Marcus Vance. Outside, rain drizzled against the windowpanes, blurring the city lights.
Marcus laid out three manila envelopes on the table.
"I ran a background check on Jenna Morris's last eight years," Marcus began, taking a sip of black coffee. "It wasn't easy. She lived off the grid for the most part—working cash jobs, moving between small towns in Pennsylvania and Maryland every eighteen months."
"Why was she moving so much?" Nathan asked, leaning in.
"That's where things get strange," Marcus said. "I looked into her financial records right before she passed. She was receiving monthly cash deposits into a private bank account under a fictitious corporate entity named 'Chesapeake Haven LLC'."
Nathan frowned. "Who owns the LLC?"
"It's a shell company registered in Delaware. But I managed to trace the underlying wire transfers. The funds weren't coming from loan sharks, Nathan. They were coming from a private trust managed by a law firm here in Baltimore."
"A trust? Set up by whom?"
"That’s locked tight under attorney-client privilege. But here's the kicker," Marcus pushed the second envelope toward Nathan. "I checked the vehicle recovery records from the night Michael vanished eight years ago. The police report noted that Michael’s car didn't plunge off the bridge by accident. The brake lines had been deliberately severed."
Nathan felt a cold chill run down his spine. "Severed? Michael didn't commit suicide? Someone tried to kill him?"
"Exactly," Marcus said grimly. "Michael didn't disappear because he was running from you or his debts. He disappeared because someone actively tried to murder him. And whoever it was, Jenna knew about it. She took Eli and went into hiding to keep the kid from becoming a target."
Nathan gripped the edge of the table. "And Vanessa? What’s her role in this?"
"Vanessa Reed was listed as a secondary contact on Jenna’s medical power of attorney," Marcus explained. "She knew where Jenna was the whole time. When Jenna died six weeks ago, Vanessa took the paperwork to claim custody of Eli. But why didn't she contact you? If she knew Michael was alive—or if she knew Eli was your nephew—why keep you away?"
"Because she thinks I'm involved," Nathan realized with a sick feeling in his stomach. "Or because she’s trying to protect Eli from whoever tampered with Michael's car."
At that moment, Nathan's phone rang. It was Rebecca Lane from Harbor House.
"Mr. Cole," her voice was urgent. "You need to come back to the center immediately."
"What happened? Is Eli okay?"
"Eli is fine, but there's been a development. The court has scheduled an emergency custody hearing for tomorrow morning. Ms. Reed’s attorney filed a petition to take Eli into temporary foster care under her guardianship. Furthermore, a second party has just stepped forward claiming an interest in the child's estate."
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Nathan froze. "What estate? Jenna was living off cash jobs!"
"Apparently," Rebecca said softly, "Jenna Morris was named the sole beneficiary of a multi-million-dollar life insurance policy taken out by Michael Cole nine years ago—a policy that was never claimed, until three days ago."
