Chapter 3

I told them everything I had heard tonight.

From the accidental Bluetooth connection to the conversation between Austin and Cole.

The phone stayed dead silent.

When I finished, Dominic only said four words.

"I got this."

Then he handed the phone back to Nathan.

Nathan paused for a few seconds before speaking. "Chloe, what do you want to do?"

"Investigate first," I said. "We'll talk once we have the facts."

"Alright." Nathan sighed. "No matter what the results are, your brothers have your back."

"I know."

After hanging up, I sat on the sofa for a long time to gather my strength.

Once my legs stopped shaking, I stood up.

I walked over to the front desk and booked a room.

In the shower, as the hot water washed over me, I finally broke down, crouching on the floor with my face buried in my knees.

I didn't cry.

I just felt cold.

A bone-chilling cold radiating from within.

The next day at noon, I received a file from Nathan.

The first part was a search record from major hospitals across the United States.

There was no record of Austin Miller ever being admitted.

Not a single one.

The second part was the travel logs for Austin and Eleanor.

Dominic must have used his connections to pull this.

They had never even set foot in the United States.

They went to Switzerland.

For the past year, they had been living in a small, picturesque Swiss town.

There were rental agreements, credit card transactions, and even reservation records for Austin at high-end restaurants.

The third part was about the car accident from a year ago.

The accident report was completely forged.

The so-called "one dead, two injured" family of the truck driver who allegedly received the three-hundred-thousand-dollar settlement was actually a shell account.

Once the three hundred thousand was wired in, ten thousand was deducted as a processing fee, and the remaining two hundred and ninety thousand was transferred right back into Eleanor’s bank account.

There was no accident.

There was no settlement.

It was all a giant lie.

Staring at the files on my laptop screen, I poured myself a glass of wine.

This past year, I had grown to absolutely despise drinking.

But today, I needed the alcohol to numb the pain.

My phone rang.

It was Eleanor calling.

Looking at the name "Eleanor" flashing on the screen, my lips curled into a smirk.

A smirk so cold it even frightened me.

"Hey, Eleanor," I answered, keeping my voice perfectly steady.

"Chloe!" Eleanor’s voice was overflowing with joy. "Amazing news! Austin’s condition is improving!"

"Really? That’s wonderful."

"The doctor said they started him on a new trial medication, and it's working wonders. Austin can actually move his fingers now!"

"Are you serious? That is incredible. Thank you for taking care of him, Eleanor."

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing." Eleanor sighed heavily. "It's just... Chloe, this new medication is extremely expensive. One cycle costs a hundred thousand dollars. Is there any way you can wire us some more cash?"