Chapter 552: Financial Fraud

At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything suspicious about Brady in the video. He looked like a devoted husband, standing by his critically ill wife’s side. His body trembled, and he appeared to be consumed by grief.

But Dave didn’t buy it. He didn’t think Brady was shaking from sorrow, he suspected it was excitement.

Something about Rachel’s death just didn’t feel right. In her final moments, her empty eyes shifted toward the camera, almost like she was looking straight at Dave in the surveillance room. There was a deep sadness in her eyes as if she were trying to send him a message.

Her medical records showed that she’d suffered from chronic headaches. While it wasn’t uncommon for people in that much pain to hit their heads against walls or the floor, it was extremely rare for someone to bite their own tongue to end it all.

She had chosen to bite her tongue to end her life, likely because she’d been enduring something far more painful than her illness, something that brought her unbearable grief.

Emotional pain could cut deeper than any physical suffering. But what had broken her so badly that she’d been driven to such a desperate act? Could whatever she was going through have been more unbearable than dying in that way?

Thinking about his grandfather’s condition, Dave felt more certain than ever that Brady must have said something to Rachel. Something that pushed her over the edge and left her no will to live.

Biting one’s tongue while lying down usually caused suffocation as blood flowed into the throat. If help came quickly, survival was possible.

But Brady had been there the whole time. He called the doctor right away yet somehow, the doctor arrived just a little too late to save her.

The answer to Dave’s question was becoming clearer by the second. He shut his eyes tightly, overwhelmed by a deep, aching sadness. It was hard to believe that the very person Rachel had loved and trusted the most could be the one to hurt her.

“Let’s go,” Dave said, keeping the rest to himself. He needed proof first.

But even if that proof never came, he already knew what he had to do. There was no way he would let Brady get away with murdering someone from the Evans family and go on living without consequence. Whatever pain Rachel had suffered, Dave was determined to make Brady feel it, twice as much.

As Brady walked out of the hospital behind Dave, he looked proud of himself.

Once they were in the car, Dave turned to Wyatt and said, “There’s something off about Brady. The video looks fine, but something’s not right.”

Wyatt was taken aback at first, but he quickly caught on to what Dave meant. “You’re saying he expected us to check the video?” he asked.

“Yeah. But I didn’t think he’d cover his tracks this well,” Dave sighed. “It almost looked like Aunt Rachel was going along with him. But that look she gave at the end… You need to dig into the doctor who used to treat her.”

Then a troubling thought struck Dave, what if Rachel had never been sick at all? If things had played out the way he suspected, the doctor might have already left Edenfield. Still, he knew Brady wouldn’t leave anything behind that could point to him. If someone knew too much, Brady would make sure they disappeared.

“We need to act fast. Get to them before Brady does. That doctor has to be protected,” Dave said firmly.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already tracked the doctor’s location. I’m heading there now,” Wyatt said as he opened the car door.

“Okay. Just be careful,” Dave reminded him. Then he quietly arranged for a few undercover bodyguards to go with Wyatt.

As the car pulled away, Dave looked around at the busy street. The four elite families of Edenfield had brought great wealth to the city. But maybe… one of them needed to disappear.

He took out his phone and dialed a number.

****

Bianca’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen, it was Diana.

“Bianca, where are you?” Diana asked, nearly out of breath. “Check the stock price of Phoenix Alliance Group. Hurry! It’s going up again!” Her voice was full of excitement.

“Keep buying it then,” Bianca told her. “I’m at the hospital, something came up. I’ll explain later. Just take care of things at the company for now.”

After ending the call, Bianca made sure Lucas was comfortable before opening the stock trading app on her phone. At that moment, Phoenix Alliance Group’s stock had gone up by five points, though it was still well below yesterday’s numbers.

Even so, she went ahead and placed a buy order. But right after she did, the price dropped sharply again. This time, the fall was even steeper, a repeat of what had happened the day before. It sank all the way back to its record low.

“But… how could this be?” she muttered, confused.

Meanwhile, the internet erupted again, throwing Phoenix Alliance Group right back into the spotlight.

“Phoenix Alliance Group’s manipulation this morning is absolutely shameless! What a trash company. It should be delisted immediately.”

“Who started those rumors yesterday about foreign investors buying up shares of Phoenix Alliance Group?”

“Phoenix Alliance Group is a junk stock. Didn’t you see the trending news on Twitter? Financial fraud!”

“It’s smarter to invest in Lawson Group. Their stock has been climbing for the past two days.”

“Phoenix Alliance Group keeps luring people into buying more. From now on, I’m bearish on it, and I’m shorting this broken stock!”

Almost at the same time, investors in Hondune who had bought shares of Phoenix Alliance Group were thrown into confusion. They had been excited during the morning surge, but the sudden drop felt like a slap in the face.

Now, they had two options: sell their shares and accept the loss or keep buying to lower the average cost, hoping the stock would bounce back.

For two days in a row, the stock price hit its limit shortly after the market opened. Negative posts on stock forums and Twitter made Phoenix Alliance Group look like a sinking ship, leaving everyone nervous.

Still, a few die-hard supporters believed the stock would rise again.

Brandon slammed his hand on the table and pointed at his assistant, fuming. “Stop talking nonsense. Keep selling off and buying more. I don’t want your opinion. If I say Phoenix Alliance Group will make it, then it will.”

“But… Boss…” the assistant hesitated. The internet was in chaos, and everyone was rushing to sell.