Chapter 3 - The Secret Code
Three hours before the penthouse reception, while Jessi was adjusting her veil in the master dressing room, the door had quietly clicked open.
Patricia Vance had slipped inside, trembling violently in her silver evening gown. She reached out with a shaky hand, pressing a small silver USB flash drive into Jessi’s palm.
"Don't let them know what I'm about to tell you..." Patricia had whispered, her voice cracking with thirty-two years of repressed terror. "Arthur and Luca keep a secondary encrypted server hidden inside the penthouse firewall. It holds the true accounting ledgers of every shell company they created since 1994."
Patricia pulled back her collar slightly, revealing severe discoloration on her collarbone—the result of Arthur's abuse from the night before.
"I tried to leave him twenty years ago," Patricia sobbed softly. "He threatened to destroy my family and make sure I disappeared. Please... if you have any power, stop them."
Jessi looked into the older woman's terrified eyes, closing her hand around the silver flash drive.
"You're going to be free tonight, Patricia," Jessi promised gently, her professional resolve hardening into an unshakeable personal mission. "I give you my word."
May you like
Jessi tucked the flash drive into the concealed pocket sewn inside her lace wedding gown, waiting for the exact moment the Vance men would reveal their true violent natures in public.
👉 Read Part 4 to see what triggered Luca's outburst at the reception.
