It had been a few hours since I dropped off my brother, and I'd been poring over the company logs, trying to find any discrepancies that could serve as evidence. But the deeper I dug, the stranger it got—most of the data seemed to be missing, like it had just vanished into thin air.
I leaned back in my chair, rubbing the back of my neck. This isn't normal. How does an entire chunk of company data just disappear without a trace? I thought. The frustration was building, and I realized I couldn't figure this out alone.
"Maybe Aron will know what to do," I mumbled to myself. He always had a knack for digging into things like this. I picked up my phone and punched in his number—0432++++++—and waited as it started to ring.
Ring… Ring… Ring…
After what felt like an eternity, maybe 10 or 20 seconds, he finally picked up.
"Hey, what's up?" he said casually, his tone light, like he wasn't expecting this call to be anything serious.
"Not much," I replied, though my voice carried the weight of my frustration. "I need your help. I've been looking into the company logs for evidence of something serious, but a lot of the data is just… gone. Like it disappeared into thin air. It's weird."
There was a pause on the other end, and I could almost hear him frowning as he processed what I'd just said.
"Gone? How much data are we talking about?" Aron asked, his tone more serious now.
"Enough to make me suspicious. There's no way this is an accident," I said, leaning forward again and scrolling through what little was left in the logs. "I've been combing through the archives, backup systems—everything. And anything that could point to foul play is just missing, like someone knew exactly what to delete. The logs don't even show a trace of tampering, which makes it even more suspicious."
"Alright," Aron said, his voice steady and calm, the way it always got when he was locked into problem-solving mode. "Send me what you've got. Even if the data's incomplete, I might be able to piece something together. Did you check the metadata on the remaining files?"
"I did," I said, pulling up the timestamps and access logs. "And that's the thing—it's clean. Too clean. Whoever did this knew how to cover their tracks."
"Hmm," Aron murmured, and I could hear the faint click of his keyboard in the background. "Alright, send over whatever you've got, and I'll take a look. Give me a bit to see if I can dig deeper. If nothing else, I might be able to find a way to recover the missing data."
"Thanks, man," I said, feeling a bit of relief as I started transferring the files to him. "If we can get enough evidence, I might actually have a solid case."
"You'll have one," Aron assured me. "We just need to figure out who's behind this and why. I'll call you as soon as I find something."
I hung up the phone. While Aron worked on finding the missing data, I decided to focus on Mark and his friend. I called my head of personal security, David.
"David, I need you to pull video footage of Mark at the Crown Casino near Perth City. Look for anything suspicious, especially interactions with his friend," I said.
"Understood. I'll start immediately and update you once I have something," David replied.
After the call, I went to the room where all our estate footage was stored. I started reviewing the recordings from the days before my parents' deaths. It took some time, but eventually, I spotted something unusual.
A man, dressed entirely in black, jumped over the gate late at night. He moved quickly, picking the lock on my father's car. After doing something inside, he left just as quietly as he arrived.
I paused the footage and stared at the screen. Though there was no immediate evidence of what he had done, this couldn't be ignored.
I called David back. "David, I found footage of someone breaking into my father's car the night before the accident. I need you to locate the car and inspect it for tampering—brakes, engine, anything."
"I'll handle it," he assured me.
I hung up and leaned back. This might not be enough to prove anything yet, but it was a start.
While waiting, feeling anxious, I picked up a book about governing land to prepare myself for when the MMO comes out, all because of the noble title.
Ring, ring, ring. After about an hour, my phone buzzed. It was Aron calling. I quickly picked up the call.
"Did you find anything?" I asked, my voice betraying a mix of hope and tension.
"Yes, I found it. All the data is stored on a separate server in the company. It was done in a sneaky way—they targeted certain data and siphoned it into another server. You're quite lucky we caught this so quickly," Aron said, sounding a bit relieved. "The company has lost about 20 million in the past year." He sighed.
"Thanks. This is more evidence I can use," I said, feeling a small sense of progress. "Anyway, I also need you to help me find evidence of Mark's crimes. He holds shares in our company. I've already asked David to find videos and other evidence," I added.
Aron hummed thoughtfully before asking, "What's this all about? You haven't told me what's really going on."
I sighed, reluctant but knowing I had to explain. "It's about the death of my parents. I think they were killed—it wasn't an accident."
"What do you mean? Aunt and Uncle were murdered?" Aron's voice sharpened with anger. I could hear the disbelief and frustration in his tone. Aron, Theo, Sarah, and I had been childhood friends for as long as I could remember. Aron might not have come from a wealthy family, but he was brilliant—even as a kid, he excelled at coding, hacking, and anything computer-related. If you gave him a few years and enough funding, I was sure he could create a fully realistic MMO by himself.
"Yeah, and I want them to pay," I said firmly.
"Okay, man. I'll find every little detail. Give me a few weeks—no, wait, give me a day. I'll dig up everything on them. By the way, what's the friend's name?"
I hesitated for a moment before answering, "I'll tell you both of their names. The one I'm after is Mark Whitlock, and I'm 100% sure his friend Brandon Smith is involved too."
"All right, I'll find every bit of dirt on them," Aron promised before abruptly hanging up.
I was about to get up when my phone rang again. Ring, ring, ring.
I answered, and it was David on the other line.
"Sir, I've found all the videos I could from the casino," he said.
"Thanks, David. Send me the videos, and you can take a rest for now." I hung up and leaned back for a moment, my mind racing.
I glanced at the time and realized it was about when my sister and brother should be coming home. I decided to give them a call.
My sister answered first. "I want to stay out a little longer," she said. "I'm hanging out with my friends."
"Okay, but make sure you're back before 8 PM," I reminded her. "Alright, bye."
Next, I called my brother. He said he would come home on his own, so I let it go.
I sighed, setting my phone down.