The Other Clock

He took screenshots, exported statements, downloaded confirmations, and called the bank's fraud department. The first representative sounded bored until he said offshore. The second sounded alert until he said unsolicited. The third told him not to move the funds and gave him a case number. At 8:02 p.m., Marcus Vale texted from an unknown number. Smart. Ethan stared at the word. So Marcus had known. Or Marcus was pretending to know. Or Marcus was not the other recipient at all. At 8:07, the senderless inbox blinked again, five hours early. Subject: COUNTERPARTY SIGNAL The message contained a single line: He wants you to think he is the one.