The Perfect Scam

Chapter XVI

The night was still young when they returned to the FBI headquarters. Without wasting a moment, Richards and Daisy handed over the evidence they had found in Samson's house to their tech specialist, a man named Lucas.

"Another piece of evidence?" Lucas asked, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the flash drive.

 Richards nodded and handed it over without a word. Lucas plugged it into his computer, his fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard. The room fell silent, except for the soft hum of computers.

Daisy watched as multiple files started to open on Lucas' screen—pictures, text documents, emails. Most were encrypted but judging by Lucas' confident smirk, he'd crack them all eventually.

"Seems like we hit the jackpot," he murmured as a series of photos showed up on the screen. They were pictures of various people—men and women alike—most likely Samson's victims.

But amongst these images was a picture that made Daisy's heart drop. It was her and Samson at the amusement park. 

They were smiling into the camera, hotdogs in their hands. 

It felt like a century ago when Samson's lies were still unknown and Daisy thought she was in love.

"Daisy...?" Richards' voice pulled her out of her memories.

"Daisy? Are you okay?" Richards repeated, studying her concernedly.

"Yes... I'm just..." She trailed off before finally finding her words again. "Fine."

Daisy managed a small smile in response but it didn't reach her eyes.

There was an awkward silence before Lucas piped up again. "Looks like there's more," he said, opening another folder filled with encrypted files.

Lucas rubbed his eyes, his gaze still fixed on the screen. Daisy tried to bury the distress that churned in her gut. The silence in the room was broken only by the occasional tapping of keys.

"I've managed to crack some of these files," Lucas's voice pierced through her thoughts. He adjusted his glasses, his tired eyes gleaming with newfound excitement. "Looks like we have a list of previous aliases."

He began reeling off names, but Daisy wasn't listening. Her world had narrowed down to one name - 'Samson.' It echoed in her mind like a haunting tune, bringing back memories she wished she could forget.

"Daisy?" Richards' voice broke through her personal hell once again. "You need to see this."

With a deep breath, she stepped forward. On Lucas's screen were names, so many names. Victims of Samson's charm, just like her.

"Any... any mention of where he might be going next?" she asked hesitantly.

Lucas shook his head regretfully. "Unfortunately, no." His remorseful tone mirrored Daisy's disappointment.