Chapter 3 - THE MISSING FOLDER
I reached the study before security did.
The door stood open.
The desk drawers had been pulled out.
Documents covered the floor.
The folder Rosa had found was gone.
So was the backup drive from the locked cabinet.
Luis, our groundskeeper, appeared in the doorway.
“I saw a black sedan leaving through the east gate.”
“Did you see the driver?”
“No.”
“But the passenger had blonde hair.”
Vanessa.
I called Daniel.
He did not answer.
I called again.
The third call went directly to voicemail.
Our security chief, Marcus Dean, checked the access records.
Vanessa’s code had been used six minutes after Daniel left.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Marcus said.
“Mr. Daniel’s car is still showing on the highway toward her apartment.”
“She could not have been in both places.”
“Then she gave her code to someone else.”
Marcus examined the hallway camera.
The screen showed nothing but gray static.
“Someone disabled the interior cameras.”
“Who can do that?”
“You.”
“You.”
“Mr. Daniel.”
“And the company that installed the system.”
The company belonged to Adrian Cross.
I remembered the name from the transfer instructions.
By evening, Daniel finally returned.
Vanessa came with him.
She wore a cream coat and held his hand.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Daniel placed the recorder on the table.
“She explained everything.”
I stared at him.
“The forged signature?”
“She did not forge it.”
Vanessa spoke softly.
“The financial adviser created a preliminary document.”
“It was never supposed to be submitted.”
“Why was Daniel’s signature on it?”
“It was copied from a sample authorization form.”
“That is forgery.”
“It was a draft.”
“A draft that included an account number.”
Vanessa squeezed Daniel’s hand.
“Adrian was preparing options for our foundation.”
“He made a terrible mistake.”
“He has been fired.”
“Where is the folder?”
Daniel frowned.
“What folder?”
I looked at Vanessa.
She met my gaze without blinking.
“The one stolen from the study.”
Vanessa’s mouth opened in shock.
“You think I broke into your house?”
“Your code was used.”
“I was with Daniel.”
“She was,” Daniel said.
“For the entire time?”
He hesitated.
Vanessa answered for him.
“I went downstairs to ask the doorman whether Daniel had arrived.”
“For twelve minutes?”
Her eyes hardened.
“I wasn’t timing myself.”
Daniel stepped between us.
“That is enough.”
He looked exhausted.
“Vanessa apologized for what happened this afternoon.”
“She has agreed to apologize to every member of the staff.”
“She will also attend counseling.”
Vanessa lowered her head.
“I was ashamed of the way I behaved.”
“I want to become better.”
Behind Daniel’s shoulder, she looked directly at me.
There was no shame in her expression.
Only calculation.
Daniel continued.
“The wedding is still happening.”
The words struck harder than the bucket.
I did not argue.
Instead, I nodded.
“All right.”
Vanessa appeared surprised.
Daniel did too.
“You aren’t going to fight me?”
“No.”
He relaxed slightly.
I walked to Vanessa and offered my hand.
“Welcome back.”
She stared at my palm before taking it.
Her fingers were cold.
As we shook hands, I whispered so only she could hear.
“The study has two backup systems.”
Her smile remained perfect.
But her pulse jumped beneath my fingers.
That night, Marcus restored seven seconds of corrupted security footage.
The image was blurry.
But we could clearly see the person entering Daniel’s study.
It was not Vanessa.
May you like
It was someone Daniel had trusted since childhood.
Our family attorney, Charles Whitaker.
