Chapter 5 - The Accountant at the WeddingDaniel called Marcus immediately.
“Where did you get the photo?”
“One of the photographers sent a preview gallery this morning.”
“Why was Evan at the wedding?”
“I thought you invited him.”
“I didn't.”
Rachel stared at the photograph.
Evan was leaning toward Vanessa.
They were not smiling.
They were speaking privately.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“There are more pictures.”
“Send everything.”
Within minutes, Daniel's phone filled with photographs.
Most were harmless.
One was not.
Evan and Vanessa stood beside a service corridor.
Vanessa held something in her hand.
A folder.
Rachel zoomed in.
A blue logo appeared in the corner.
Morgan Development Group.
Daniel's company.
“Why would Vanessa have company documents at the reception?”
Daniel shook his head.
“She shouldn't.”
Thomas looked furious.
“Call security.”
Daniel did more.
He called his chief operating officer.
No answer.
He called his corporate attorney.
She answered on the third ring.
“Daniel?”
“Check our document access logs.”
There was silence.
“Why?”
“Now, Karen.”
Karen heard something in his voice.
“All right.”
“Specifically anything opened under my credentials in the last forty-eight hours.”
“I'll call you back.”
Daniel hung up.
Rachel crossed her arms.
“Vanessa knows your passwords.”
Daniel did not answer.
“That means yes.”
“She had access to some personal accounts.”
“This isn't personal.”
“I know.”
Thomas paced between boxes.
“This might be unrelated.”
Rachel looked at him.
“Vanessa secretly invited the accountant Margaret suspected of stealing from me.”
Thomas stopped pacing.
“That's difficult to call unrelated.”
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.
His wedding day had become an investigation.
His wife might be connected to financial fraud.
His mother had apparently known something years earlier.
And his daughter had been hidden beneath a table because Vanessa wanted to erase evidence of his previous life.
Rachel hated how vulnerable he suddenly looked.
She also hated that a small part of her still cared.
Ellie sat nearby drawing on the back of an old cardboard box.
She was blissfully unaware of the adult storm around her.
Rachel wanted to keep it that way.
“We should leave.”
Daniel looked up.
“Rachel.”
“She doesn't need to hear this.”
He nodded.
“I'll come by later.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because whatever this is, it may be dangerous.”
Daniel frowned.
“Dangerous?”
“Someone stole millions of dollars using my identity.”
Rachel lowered her voice.
“And if Margaret was right, they stayed close to you for years waiting for something bigger.”
Daniel looked toward Ellie.
Rachel continued.
“Until we know what this is, you do not bring it to my apartment.”
Daniel wanted to argue.
He did not.
Rachel took Ellie's hand.
They had nearly reached the exit when Karen called.
Daniel answered.
“What did you find?”
Karen's voice was unusually sharp.
“Your credentials accessed the acquisition drive at 11:42 last night.”
Daniel stared.
“That was during the reception.”
“I know.”
“What files?”
“The North Harbor documents.”
Thomas swore under his breath.
Rachel stopped walking.
Daniel looked at her.
“What is North Harbor?”
Rachel asked.
Daniel hesitated.
“The biggest deal my company has ever attempted.”
“How big?”
“Roughly six hundred million.”
Rachel slowly walked back.
Karen continued through the speaker.
“The files contain confidential bids, financing terms, seller information, and our maximum purchase number.”
Daniel's face turned gray.
“If someone gives that to a competitor—”
“We lose the deal.”
Karen paused.
“And possibly the company.”
Rachel thought of Margaret's recording.
They are waiting for Daniel's business to become valuable before taking what they really want.
“What time did Vanessa leave the ballroom?”
Rachel asked.
Daniel looked at the wedding timeline.
“She disappeared around eleven thirty.”
The file access occurred at eleven forty-two.
Rachel looked at the photograph of Vanessa and Evan near the service corridor.
“What was in that part of the hotel?”
Marcus, still on speaker, answered.
“Business center.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Karen asked the question none of them wanted to hear.
“Daniel, who knew your credentials?”
He answered quietly.
“My wife.”
Nobody corrected the word.
Not yet.
Rachel took out her phone.
“I want Evan investigated.”
Daniel nodded.
“So do I.”
Thomas looked toward the recorder.
“Your mother already started.”
They searched the final folders.
At the bottom was a business card.
On the back Margaret had written one name.
Samuel Pierce.
Private Investigator.
Beneath it was a phone number.
Daniel called.
A man answered.
“Pierce.”
Daniel swallowed.
“My name is Daniel Morgan.”
The silence on the other end lasted several seconds.
Then Samuel Pierce said something none of them expected.
“I've been waiting three years for you to call.”
Daniel tightened his grip on the phone.
“You knew my mother?”
“I worked for her.”
“On what?”
Pierce sighed.
“Your wife.”
Daniel froze.
“I wasn't married three years ago.”
“I know.”
Pierce's next words made Rachel's skin turn cold.
May you like
“Your mother wasn't investigating Vanessa.”
“She was investigating the woman who introduced Vanessa into your life.”
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