Chapter 3 - The Missing Drive
Emily felt the temperature in the room drop.
“Fraud?”
Daniel closed the safe.
“Six months ago, our auditors found irregular payments.”
Margaret sat down heavily.
“You never told me.”
“I didn’t want to worry you until we knew whether it was an accounting error.”
Grant crossed his arms.
“It wasn’t.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
He walked toward the desk.
“More than four million dollars moved through consulting contracts that should never have existed.”
Emily stared at him.
“Four million?”
“Possibly more.”
Margaret’s face tightened.
“And the flash drive?”
“It contains copies of the internal records.”
Grant looked toward the door.
“Who knew it existed?”
“Me.”
Daniel paused.
“My attorney.”
Another pause.
“And Vanessa.”
Margaret stared at her son.
“You told her?”
“We were getting married.”
The words sounded different now.
Less like an explanation.
More like regret.
Daniel sat behind his desk.
“She kept asking why I was distracted.”
“So you trusted her.”
“Yes.”
Grant examined the locking mechanism.
“The safe wasn’t damaged.”
Daniel nodded.
“Which means whoever opened it had the code.”
Emily remembered something.
“Vanessa watched you open the safe once.”
Daniel looked at her.
“When?”
“Last month.”
Emily hesitated.
“I was bringing coffee.”
Vanessa had been standing near the fireplace.
Daniel had opened the safe to retrieve Margaret’s passport.
At the time, Emily had thought nothing of it.
Now she remembered Vanessa’s eyes.
Not on Daniel.
On his hand.
On the keypad.
Grant looked at Daniel.
“Change every security code tonight.”
Daniel nodded.
Emily walked toward the window.
Something beneath the curtain caught her attention.
A small metallic object rested against the baseboard.
She bent down.
It was a thin silver access card.
There was no name.
Only a number.
Emily held it up.
“Was this here before?”
Grant took it.
His expression changed.
“That isn’t an estate card.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“Then what is it?”
“I’ve seen this type before.”
Grant turned it over.
“Corporate access credential.”
Daniel frowned.
“For whose company?”
“I need to scan it.”
Margaret looked toward the door.
“Could Vanessa have dropped it?”
Emily remembered Vanessa carrying the blue folder.
“She was holding something else that night.”
Daniel turned.
“What?”
“I couldn’t see clearly.”
Emily closed her eyes for a moment.
“She had the folder under one arm.”
“And?”
“There was something shiny in her other hand.”
Grant held up the card.
“Like this?”
Emily nodded slowly.
“I think so.”
They returned downstairs.
Police officers had arrived.
Vanessa’s vehicle had already been located.
Abandoned.
Three miles from the estate.
The driver’s door was open.
No Vanessa.
No blue folder.
No flash drive.
Daniel stood in the security room while Grant scanned the silver card.
A computer database loaded.
For several seconds, nothing appeared.
Then a company name filled the screen.
Everyone stared at it.
Daniel’s face became unreadable.
Emily looked toward him.
“What is Calder Strategic Holdings?”
Daniel answered quietly.
“A consulting company.”
Grant turned.
“Do you use them?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Margaret frowned.
“Then why would Vanessa have their access card?”
Daniel stared at the screen.
Because he knew the name.
He had seen it hidden inside the suspicious transactions.
More than two million dollars had been transferred to Calder Strategic Holdings.
Grant clicked another file.
A registered executive appeared.
Emily saw the photograph.
The man looked strangely familiar.
Daniel whispered his name.
“Adrian Vale.”
Emily looked at Vanessa’s abandoned photograph lying on the desk.
Then she realized why the man looked familiar.
Adrian Vale had the same eyes as Vanessa.
May you like
Daniel’s voice turned cold.
“He’s her brother.”
