Chapter 14 - The Betrayal
For the first time, Evelyn looked frightened.
She recovered quickly.
She claimed a firefighter had mentioned the vial near the ambulance.
The detective wrote down her explanation.
No one challenged it immediately.
Prosecutors preferred to let lies grow before cutting them apart.
The laboratory needed several days to test the substance.
Meanwhile, the company’s crisis deepened.
A confidential rescue plan appeared in the press.
The article revealed employee pension figures, lender negotiations, and my personal funding commitment.
Only five people had access to the full plan.
I was one of them.
Nora was another.
Peter had been detained.
The restructuring specialist had signed strict confidentiality agreements.
The fifth person was Miles Grant, the new interim chief executive recommended by Nora.
Miles denied leaking anything.
Two hours later, he disappeared.
So did twelve million dollars from an emergency company account.
The transfer went to a bank in the Cayman Islands.
The authorization contained my new digital signature.
Once again, my identity had been used.
But this time, the security system showed my personal token approving the transfer.
The token had never left Nora’s office.
I stared at her across the conference table.
“Who had access?”
“Only my senior staff.”
“Who knew where it was stored?”
Nora said nothing.
I understood before she answered.
Her senior associate, Lucas Bennett, had worked closely with us since Friday.
He had prepared court exhibits.
He had spoken with the banks.
He had access to my signatures.
Lucas was also Evelyn’s godson.
Nora had never known.
His mother had used a different last name after remarrying.
Lucas had joined Nora’s firm three years earlier and waited.
Evelyn had placed him near anyone who might challenge her.
Nora looked devastated.
“This is my fault.”
“No.”
“I hired him.”
“He deceived you.”
“I gave him access.”
“And I married Daniel.”
We did not have time for guilt.
The stolen twelve million meant payroll would fail by morning.
Lenders suspended negotiations.
The board questioned whether I had authorized the transfer myself.
Daniel appeared on television and claimed I was looting the company.
Employees who had trusted my promise began gathering outside headquarters.
Some carried signs accusing me of betrayal.
The court scheduled an emergency hearing to determine whether I should be removed from control.
Everything Daniel and Evelyn had failed to accomplish through the incompetency petition was now happening through corporate panic.
At nine that night, police located Miles Grant’s car near the airport.
There was blood on the driver’s seat.
Miles was missing.
Lucas was also gone.
Then I received a video from an unknown number.
Miles appeared bound to a chair.
Lucas stood behind him.
Daniel’s voice spoke from off camera.
May you like
“Return my company before midnight.”
“Or the next video will be much harder to watch.”
