Chapter 18 - THE GHOST IN CHICAGOThe discovery of the ledger sent shockwaves through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Within forty-eight hours, federal agents descended on the Dallas DA’s office.
Ray Carter came over to my cabin on Thursday night, spreading copies of the ledger across my dining room table.
“This is bigger than anyone thought, Thomas,” Ray said, highlighting names on the paper. “Vanessa Vance was just one of four field operatives working for Vance Financial—which is headed by a man named Victor Vance. Supposedly her ‘uncle,’ but federal records show no blood relation.”
“What about the initials ‘DR’?” Mark asked, standing by the kitchen counter.
“Daniel Ross,” Ray replied grimly. “A wealthy shipping magnate in Chicago who died of an alleged heart attack sixteen months ago. His daughter, Chloe Ross, was seventeen at the time. Right after Daniel died, she was committed to a private psychiatric clinic in Zurich, Switzerland, while the estate was liquidated by Vance Financial.”
I felt a sickening wave of horror wash over me. It was the exact same blueprint.
Seattle. Dallas. Chicago.
A systematic machine that targeted grieving children, erased them under the guise of mental illness, and absorbed hundreds of millions of dollars into offshore accounts.
“Where is Victor Vance now?” I asked.
“Federal agents tracked his private jet to a private estate in Austin,” Ray said. “He knows the Dallas ledger was recovered. His legal team is already filing motions to claim the documents were obtained illegally without a proper search warrant.”
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“If those documents get suppressed in court,” Mark said, his knuckles turning white, “Vanessa and her handler walk free.”
“Not if we find Chloe Ross first,” I said. “If Chloe is alive in Zurich and can testify that Vance Financial forced her into that clinic, Victor Vance’s entire operation crumbles.”
