The Doppelgänger’s Funeral: How a Small-Town Land Appraiser Uncovered His Own Staged Death and Business Partner’s $4.2 Million Scheme
👉 Previous Action: Nora Bramwell rescued you from the burning barn and prepared to expose Derrick Croft.
Inside the packed Gideon Crest Town Hall, Mayor Harlan Ellison stood at the podium, his voice booming over the festive chatter of the Annual Budget Gala. Derrick Croft sat at the head table, a picture of civic pride, beside Garrett Kincaid.
Suddenly, the large projection screens flanking the stage flickered. Mayor Ellison’s smiling face was replaced by a stream of text. The decrypted messages from Derrick Croft’s hidden server drive.
“Julian refused the buyout. Handle him like we discussed…”
The hall fell silent. Over 300 residents watched, transfixed, as message after message scrolled, detailing Julian’s murder, the staged fires, the insurance fraud, the vast, cynical land theft.
A collective gasp rose from the crowd. Whispers erupted, then shouts. State troopers, who had been alerted by Nora, moved swiftly through the stunned audience.
Derrick’s face, moments ago composed, twisted into a mask of pure terror. He tried to rise, but two troopers were already at his side, their hands clamping handcuffs on his wrists. Garrett Kincaid, pale and sweating, was cuffed seconds later.
On live local television, the truth, brutal and undeniable, finally came to light.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 19 to continue the story.
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