The Vanishing Point
In the haunting autumn of 1913, the brilliant but troubled engineer Rudolf Diesel vanishes during a midnight crossing from Antwerp to England. As whispers of suicide and foul play swirl among the crew and passengers aboard the steamer Dresden, a determined journalist embarks on a quest to unravel the mystery surrounding his disappearance. Through conversations, personal encounters, and secretive investigations, she must confront the fragility of truth and the shadows of human ambition.
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Chapters
Each chapter is one beat of the novela. Listen to the audio above, or read the prose below.
Echoes of Ambition
Set against the backdrop of a bustling Antwerp port, the chapter introduces Rudolf Diesel, a genius engineer troubled by the weight of his inventions and the world’s expectations. We meet Clara, a determined journalist, who is intrigued by Diesel’s latest project and the rumors that surround him.
The crane operator was shouting something in Flemish that nobody on the quay bothered to translate, and the steel crate he was swinging over the Antwerp dock traced a slow, groaning arc through the salt-grey afternoon. Underneath it stood a…
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