Chapter 176: The Shadow Behind the Mask
"Carl Hansen doesn't exist."
Jessica's voice was firm and absolute as she stood in front of Gene, giving her report.
She detailed the entire process of how she'd infiltrated Hansen Corp., everything she'd discovered inside.
"There's no way I could be wrong. Carl Hansen isn't a real person. And Hansen Corp.? It's just a front—something created to cover something up."
Jessica spoke rapidly, the words pouring out like bullets.
"I broke into Hansen's office, checked every file I could find. Nothing—except for a single photo used to register the company. There's no personal life, no social relationships. It's like this person just... materialized out of thin air. Or more precisely—suddenly appeared in the U.S. Census as if conjured from nowhere."
Gene laced his fingers together, quietly observing her.
In a place like America, what Jessica described actually wasn't unheard of. Powerful figures, political operatives, or corporations often created shell companies—entities with no real business, no fixed office, just enough legal standing to exist on paper.
Gene himself had a stack of such dummy companies.
But Carl Hansen's entire existence being fabricated? That was something else.
In today's hyper-digital world, faking a complete identity wasn't impossible—in fact, Gene Mason's own identity was entirely synthetic. He even maintained several alternate personas.
But to construct a flawless identity and keep it airtight? That was a skill only a handful of people in the world possessed.