Chapter 10 - The Transfer at 8:23.
The banking adviser reacted first.
He called the company's treasury department before Margaret could say anything.
The transfer had not cleared.
It was sitting in a release queue waiting for secondary approval.
Ben Carver canceled it while everyone watched.
Margaret remained seated.
The color had drained from her face, but her posture stayed straight.
"That payment was a retainer."
Dana looked at the screen.
"For a transaction that has not been approved?"
"For months of strategic work."
"Then there should be an engagement agreement."
Margaret's silence answered before she did.
Graham reached for his phone.
Nathan spoke immediately.
"Mr. Pike, I recommend that no one delete or alter any communication relating to this transaction."
Graham looked at him.
"Are you threatening me?"
"No."
Nathan's tone remained neutral.
"I am preserving the obvious."
The special meeting was adjourned without a vote.
The independent directors demanded a formal investigation.
Dana was appointed to lead a financial review.
Margaret objected.
The objection failed.
For the first time in Connor's adult life, he watched his mother lose control of a room she believed belonged to her.
She did not shout.
She did not accuse anyone openly.
She gathered her papers, placed them in a leather case, and looked directly at Amy.
"I hope you're satisfied."
Connor stepped between them before Amy could answer.
Amy touched his arm.
"No."
Connor looked at her.
Amy stood.
"I can answer for myself."
Then she looked at Margaret.
"I'm not satisfied."
Her voice stayed level.
"I wanted to bring my baby home and recover in peace."
Margaret's mouth tightened.
"And instead, you turned my family against me."
Amy almost laughed.
"I didn't write those emails."
She pointed toward the canceled wire on the screen.
"I didn't schedule that transfer."
Then she looked Margaret directly in the eyes.
"And I didn't sign my name."
Margaret held her gaze for a long moment.
Then she walked out.
Graham followed five minutes later.
Connor and Amy remained with Nathan and Dana.
Ben Carver pulled server logs.
At 8:23 that morning, someone using Margaret's executive credentials had scheduled the wire.
The authorization came from her office computer.
But building access records showed Margaret had entered the boardroom at 8:04 and had not returned to her office.
Dana looked at the timeline.
"Who else has her credentials?"
Ben frowned.
"No one should."
"Should is not useful."
He nodded.
"Her executive assistant has emergency access through a password vault, but it logs separately."
"Did she use it?"
"No."
Connor looked toward the doorway.
"Could Graham have been in her office?"
Ben checked security access.
Graham had arrived at 7:51.
His visitor badge opened the conference floor but not executive offices.
Dana asked for camera footage.
The hallway outside Margaret's office had one camera.
They reviewed the recording.
At 8:14, the hallway was empty.
At 8:16, Margaret's executive assistant walked past carrying coffee.
At 8:18, a maintenance worker pushed a cart through.
At 8:20, the camera feed froze.
It resumed at 8:27.
The wire had been authorized in the middle of the seven-minute gap.
Ben stared at the timestamp.
"That camera has never failed."
Dana wrote something down.
"Then assume it didn't fail."
Amy felt a chill despite the warm room.
The forged signature had started as a family betrayal.
Now someone was disabling cameras and moving money.
Connor looked at Nathan.
"Do we call the police?"
Nathan chose his words carefully.
"The signature issue may involve criminal conduct."
"May?"
"I am not minimizing it."
He looked toward Amy.
"But before making accusations, we should preserve every record and let counsel determine the cleanest path."
Amy nodded.
She did not need drama.
She needed evidence.
At eleven forty, Rachel texted that Lily was awake and hungry.
Amy's entire body reacted to the message.
Whatever happened in the boardroom, she was still nine days postpartum.
Connor saw her expression.
"Go home."
"What about you?"
"I'm coming with you."
Dana looked up.
"I can continue without you for a few hours."
Connor hesitated.
Amy did not.
"Then that's what we do."
They left the building together.
Rain had stopped.
The city pavement reflected a pale morning sky.
Halfway to the parking garage, Connor's phone rang.
It was Margaret.
He almost ignored it.
Amy shook her head.
"Answer."
Connor put the call on speaker.
Margaret did not waste time.
"Someone accessed my office this morning."
Connor exchanged a look with Amy.
"How do you know?"
"A desk drawer was open."
"Which drawer?"
"The locked one."
Connor stopped walking.
Margaret's voice became lower.
"The advisory-company records are gone."
Nathan had said not to assume guilt beyond the evidence.
Now Margaret sounded genuinely alarmed.
"Are you saying someone stole them?" Connor asked.
"Yes."
"Why should I believe you?"
There was a long pause.
When Margaret answered, the polished authority was gone.
"Because the person who took them also took something that belonged to your father."
Connor's voice changed.
"What?"
"A sealed letter."
"What letter?"
Margaret hesitated.
"One he wrote to you before he died."
Connor stood motionless under the parking-garage entrance.
"You had a letter from Dad for me?"
Margaret did not answer quickly enough.
That delay told him everything.
"For how long?"
"Connor—"
"How long?"
May you like
Her reply was almost a whisper.
"Eighteen months."
