They Poisoned My Father, So I Bankrupted Their Billion-Dollar Empire

Chapter 5: The Offer

The "meeting" didn't happen at the factory. It happened in Jack's living room, three hours later.

Jack hadn't invited the man in the grey suit inside, but the man—who introduced himself only as Mr. Vane, a "Risk Management Consultant"—had walked in anyway. Vane placed a briefcase on the coffee table.

"Mr. Thorne is a generous man," Vane said, opening the case. He pulled out a check and slid it across the scratched wood. "He understands you are grieving. He wants to help with your mother's medical bills."

Jack looked at the check. Ten thousand dollars.

"This is a joke," Jack said, his voice trembling. "The surgery is a quarter million. You people killed my dad, and now you're killing my mom."

"Consider it an expedited settlement offer," Vane said, his smile not reaching his eyes. "A gesture of goodwill. In exchange, we simply need that old diary you found. It contains sensitive proprietary formulas. Intellectual property."

"It contains proof of murder," Jack corrected.

Vane snapped the briefcase shut. "Take the ten grand, Jack. Sign the non-disclosure agreement. Or don't. But the offer expires when I walk out that door."

"And if I don't give you the book?"

Vane paused, checking his Rolex. "Then I'm afraid your mother's health is the least of your worries."