Chapter 2: Buried Truths
Chapter 2: Buried Truths
The conference room inside the Sinclair mobile command center fell silent as the encrypted files were opened.
Nathan expected evidence against himself.
Instead, grainy videos from decades earlier appeared on the screen.
Young executives.
Secret meetings.
Government officials.
Shell corporations.
One familiar face stood among them.
Richard Sinclair.
My father lowered his head.
"I prayed these recordings had been destroyed."
I looked at him in confusion.
"You knew about this?"
"I helped expose it..."
He paused.
"But not before becoming part of it."
Years before building Sinclair Global, Richard had been recruited into an international financial syndicate known only as Project Lazarus.
Its members manipulated bankrupt companies, staged corporate collapses, and secretly controlled billions through offshore networks.
Richard escaped.
Everyone else supposedly disappeared.
Nathan suddenly laughed despite being handcuffed.
"You really don't understand."
He nodded toward the screen.
"I didn't create those shell companies."
"I inherited them."
Vanessa stared at him.
"You told me you built everything yourself."
Nathan smiled coldly.
"My family has served Lazarus for three generations."
One federal investigator interrupted.
"We've traced recent transfers."
He projected another chart.
Millions had moved through Nathan's accounts...
Not into personal wealth.
Into active Lazarus operations.
Richard whispered,
"They never died."
"They simply waited."
Then another notification arrived.
Multiple international warrants issued.
Unknown servers activated.
Data breach detected.
Someone else now possessed copies of the pendant's archive.
And they were deleting evidence around the world.
Nathan smiled for the first time since his arrest.
"You arrested the wrong man first."
"You should be looking for whoever controls Lazarus now."
The room suddenly went dark.
Every monitor displayed the same message.
May you like
WELCOME BACK, RICHARD.
YOU NEVER REALLY LEFT.
