Episode 3 : Hidden Connections
The Crestview Conspiracy - A Jason Noble Audio Thriller -
The books I write? I’m not hoarding them for a one-time release. No, I’m breaking them open, chapter by chapter, raw and real.
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As a non-native English speaker, I create my texts in Flemish (Vlaams) using AI for clarity and include a voice-over to enhance understanding.
Previously: Episode 2 Buried Truths
Episode 3 : Hidden Connections <-click to listen
Rachel was quiet for a moment, then her tone softened. “I just don’t want you to lose yourself again. Remember what happened when you lost the company? You shut everyone out. I don’t want that to happen again. I don’t want to lose you, too.”
Jason swallowed hard, the words hitting him deeper than he expected. He knew she was right. After his company had collapsed, he had pushed everyone away—his family, his friends. The shame of failure had been too much to bear, and he couldn’t face the people who had believed in him. The idea of being a disappointment again was a fear he hadn’t shaken, even now.
“I’m not going anywhere, Rachel,” he said quietly. “But I need to see this through. It’s not just about me anymore. It’s about stopping them.”
Rachel sighed. “I hope you know what you’re doing. Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself.”
Jason closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the promise. “I will. Thanks for checking in.”
After the call, Jason sat in the dark for a long time. The memory of his company’s collapse haunted him, the same way Crestview’s board now haunted his every thought. He had put everything he had into that business—his savings, his time, his belief that he could build something that mattered. And it had all been ripped away in a matter of months.
The nights after the bankruptcy had been the hardest. He had watched as his former colleagues moved on, as his investors turned their backs on him. His name had been blacklisted in the industry, and soon, even the idea of starting over felt impossible. He remembered the endless bottles of whiskey, the long nights of staring at the ceiling, wondering how it had all gone so wrong. The self-doubt had been suffocating.
Now, with Crestview back in his life, those old wounds were reopening. He feared losing himself again to the anger, to the shame. But this time, it wasn’t just about proving something to himself—it was about redemption. If he could expose Crestview, if he could take down the people who had destroyed him, maybe he could finally reclaim the part of himself he had lost.
But what if he failed again?
The fear gnawed at him. The stakes were higher now, and if Crestview retaliated, they wouldn’t just ruin his reputation—they could destroy him entirely. And that fear—the fear of failing once more—was what kept him awake at night.
In the darkness, Jason’s phone buzzed again. This time, it was Emma.
“I finished analyzing the last of the documents,” she said. “It’s all there. We’ve got everything we need to take this public. But Jason, I need to know you’re ready for this. Once we go forward, there’s no turning back.”
Jason stared at the ceiling, thinking about Rachel’s words. Was he ready for this? Could he handle another collapse if it came to that?
“I’m ready,” he finally said, though his voice wavered slightly.
Emma was silent for a moment. “Jason... are you sure? I know this is personal for you. I just want to make sure you’re doing this for the right reasons.”
Jason closed his eyes. “I have to do this, Emma. I can’t walk away this time.”
“Alright,” she said quietly. “Then let’s finish this.”
As Jason hung up, he knew he was standing at the edge of a precipice. One wrong step, and he could fall again. But for the first time in years, he saw a path forward—one that didn’t end in failure. And that flicker of hope was enough to push him through the fear.
Jason spent the next few days tying up loose ends. He and Emma had gathered more than enough evidence—emails, bank records, and insider documents linking David and Crestview’s board to the illegal activities. Now, it was time to decide the best way to strike. This wasn’t just about revealing the truth; it was about surviving the storm that would follow.
Jason met Emma in person for the first time since they’d started working together again. They chose a quiet café on the outskirts of town, a place far from prying eyes. Emma sat across from him, her laptop open, her face drawn from weeks of sleepless nights and high-stakes work.
“We need to go public, but we have to be smart about it,” Emma began, her voice low. “If we just leak the documents without a plan, Crestview’s legal team will bury us in defamation lawsuits. We need to make sure the authorities are involved from the start.”
Jason nodded, sipping his coffee, though he barely tasted it. “What’s our play then? Media or law enforcement first?”
“Both,” Emma replied. “We’ll present the evidence to a trusted journalist—someone who can blow this wide open—but at the same time, we need to go to the SEC and law enforcement. Once the story breaks, it’ll be harder for Crestview to cover it up.”
Jason leaned back, thinking. “Who do we trust? Crestview has people everywhere—lawyers, politicians, even journalists. If we go to the wrong person, they’ll warn the board before we have a chance to strike.”
Emma gave a small, tight smile. “I’ve been working on that. There’s an investigative journalist, Sarah Collins. She’s taken down corporate giants before. She’s relentless, and more importantly, she’s clean. No ties to Crestview or their political allies.”
Jason nodded, feeling the first flicker of hope since the investigation started. “Alright. And the SEC?”
“I’ve got a contact there too,” Emma said, pulling up a file on her laptop. “His name’s Richard Morgan. He’s handled corporate fraud cases before, and he’s one of the few who isn’t afraid to go after the big players. I’ve already reached out—he’s interested, but we need to give him something solid.”
Jason exhaled, his mind racing. This was it. After months of digging and years of struggling, they were ready to move. But doubt still gnawed at him. Once the story broke, Crestview would retaliate—David, the board, all of them would come after him and Emma with everything they had.
“You sure we’re ready for this?” Jason asked, glancing up at Emma.
Her eyes met his, steady and determined. “We’ve got enough evidence to bring them down. And Jason, if we don’t do this now, they’ll keep getting away with it.”
Jason took a deep breath. There was no turning back. “Let’s do it.”
Two days later, Sarah Collins met them at a private office space Emma had rented for the hand-off. Sarah was sharp-eyed, with a reputation for exposing high-level corruption, and Jason immediately trusted her no-nonsense approach.
Emma handed Sarah the files—pages of documents, encrypted emails, bank records, and transaction logs. Everything was meticulously organized, proving the massive financial fraud orchestrated by Crestview’s top executives.
Sarah scanned through the files, her brow furrowing. “This is bigger than I thought,” she murmured, flipping through the data. “You’ve got a full conspiracy here. How long have you been working on this?”
“Months,” Jason said. “But it’s been going on for years. Crestview’s been using shell companies to launder money, skimming profits, and paying off key players to keep it all under wraps. We’ve tracked the funds to offshore accounts and back again. They’re stealing millions.”
Sarah looked up, her eyes sharp. “And you’re ready to go on record?”
Jason hesitated for only a moment before nodding. “Yes. It’s time.”
Sarah closed the file. “Once I start writing, there’s no stopping it. Crestview’s going to come after you both, hard.”
“We know,” Emma said quietly. “That’s why we need to move fast.”
With the press leak in motion, Jason and Emma turned their attention to Richard Morgan at the SEC. The next morning, they met him in a stark government building, handing over the same files they’d given to Sarah. Richard was a no-nonsense investigator, older, with deep lines etched into his face from years of battling corporate giants.
“You’ve got something big here,” Richard said, after reviewing the files for the better part of an hour. “But you realize Crestview’s got a lot of friends in high places. Once this goes public, they’ll unleash every lawyer, every political favor they’ve banked to kill this.”
“We know,” Jason said. “But they can’t ignore the facts. Once this evidence is out there, it’ll be impossible to cover up.”
Richard looked at him, then at Emma. “You’re playing a dangerous game, but it’s one worth playing. I’ll start the investigation on my end, but don’t expect this to move quickly. These things take time, and Crestview will stall at every turn.”
“We don’t have time,” Emma said. “Once the story breaks, they’ll start destroying evidence. We need to act now.”
Richard studied her for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll do what I can to fast-track this, but you both need to be ready. If you think they’re going to sit back and watch while you take them down, you’re mistaken.”
Just as Jason and Emma feared, Crestview didn’t take long to retaliate.
The day after Sarah Collins began writing her exposé, Jason’s phone buzzed with an anonymous message:
Stop now, or we’ll make sure you regret it.
Jason’s blood ran cold as he stared at the message. He had been expecting this, but seeing the threat in writing made it real.
“They know,” Jason said to Emma over the phone. “They’re already threatening me.”
The deeper they dig, the clearer it becomes: exposing the truth could cost them more than they ever imagined.....stay tuned!
Enjoy the Thrill,
Paul Van den Brande
Disclaimer
The characters and events in this book are entirely fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, or real-life events is purely coincidental. The author emphasizes that the story, its characters, and their actions are solely the product of creative imagination and are not intended to make any claims or references to real situations or individuals.
This disclaimer applies to the entire work, regardless of interpretation or context.