Lucas Reed’s Confession
Chapter 09 - Lucas Reed’s Confession
Lucas Reed arrived at the federal courthouse with two attorneys and no confidence.
He admitted helping Adrian falsify revenue, conceal customer losses, and prepare the forged messages used at Elena’s party.
His cooperation began only after Adrian’s arrest made loyalty less profitable.
Maya asked whether Lucas had an affair with Elena.
“No.”
“Did she ever send you romantic messages?”
“No.”
“Did you warn her about Ethan?”
Lucas nodded.
“I sent one text. Adrian’s monitoring software deleted it.”
The software was installed on Elena’s phone under the label “family security.”
Adrian could read messages, activate the microphone, and track her location.
Lucas explained why Adrian became desperate before the birthday.
Veridian’s merger audit was scheduled for Monday. If the foundation trustees examined the offshore accounts, the deal would collapse and customer losses would become public.
Adrian needed Elena removed by Sunday night.
The birthday party created maximum reputational damage with minimum time to respond.
Grant asked Lucas about Ethan.
Lucas had joined Veridian later, but he found a ledger containing payments to the fake renovation contractor and the marina employee who disabled cameras.
He copied the ledger.
Adrian discovered the copy and threatened Lucas’s family.
“Where is it now?” Maya asked.
Lucas looked toward Elena.
“In the birthday gift I brought.”
The gifts had been collected as evidence after the penthouse was sealed.
Lucas’s box contained a crystal sculpture. Inside its base, technicians found a flash drive.
The ledger showed Charles authorizing the cleanup.
It also showed a separate payment made two days later to Dr. Allan Price, the medical examiner who performed Ethan’s autopsy.
Price altered the estimated time of death.
The original examination placed Ethan’s death before midnight.
The final report moved it after 2:00 a.m., supporting the theory that he drowned later during the storm.
If the original estimate was correct, Ethan was already dead when the SUV reached the marina.
Adrian’s self-defense story collapsed.
Ethan did not wake and attack anyone on the boat.
He died in the penthouse.
The body was moved to create an accident.
Lucas began crying.
“I knew the company was dirty. I did not know it was this.”
Elena watched him.
He had helped humiliate her, forge evidence, and endanger the foundation.
Fear explained his actions.
It did not erase them.
“Tell everything,” she said. “Then accept what belongs to you.”
May you like
Lucas nodded.
It was the closest thing to mercy she could offer.
