“They registered his death three days before he went missing,” Marcus said.

He scrolled down, revealing a second page in the PDF file.

It was an internal memo signed by Julian Bellamy himself.

The memo was addressed to the manager of the Crystal Oak, a man who had held the position before Trevor.

*Subject: Resolution of Employee No. 0489.*

*The pension assets of Arthur Jennings have been successfully reallocated to the Bellamy holding account,* the memo read.

*The death registration is complete, and local inquiries have been suppressed.*

“They stole his life on paper,” I whispered, my hand shaking against my knee. “They just erased him.”

“It wasn’t just him,” Marcus said.

He clicked back to the main folder and opened a spreadsheet titled *Whistleblower Liquidations*.

My eyes scanned the rows of names, recognizing several from my childhood.

These were the older cooks, the senior hostesses, the people who had built the reputation of the Crystal Oak.

Beside each name was a column detailing their pension balance.

Next to that was a column titled *Method of Resolution*.