Chapter 3: The Woman With Three Names
The flash drive contained thousands of files.
Bank records.
Photos.
Passports.
Emails.
Fake identities.
Shell companies.
The deeper we looked...
The worse it became.
Vivian Ashcroft wasn't Vivian Ashcroft.
Her real name wasn't even Vivian.
She had used three different identities over twenty years.
Three wealthy husbands.
Three sudden deaths.
Three massive inheritances.
My blood ran cold.
The room fell silent.
Then the detective pointed at a photograph.
A younger version of Vivian.
Standing beside another man.
A billionaire.
Dead six months later.
Then another.
Dead.
Then another.
Dead.
My stomach turned.
"You're saying..."
The detective nodded.
"We believe your father was her fourth target."
The room spun.
Vivian stood suddenly.
"This is ridiculous."
Nobody believed her.
Not anymore.
Then she smiled.
And somehow that was worse.
Because it wasn't the smile of someone losing.
It was the smile of someone with one final card left to play.
Then she said five words.
May you like
Five words that froze my blood.
"Ask them about your mother."
