Chapter 8
I waited until the board meeting ended.
Then I approached Daniel.
“Can we talk?”
He looked at Grace.
“Privately?”
“No.”
That surprised him.
“Grace stays.”
He nodded.
“Of course.”
We used a small conference room across the hall.
I closed the door.
Daniel sat.
I remained standing.
“Why did Charles try to fire you six years ago?”
His face changed.
There.
Confirmation.
Grace noticed too.
Daniel folded his hands.
“Who told you that?”
“Answer me.”
“It’s complicated.”
I laughed.
Apparently every man in Michael’s world had the same favorite phrase.
“Try me.”
Daniel looked toward the glass wall.
“Charles believed I had exceeded my authority.”
“Doing what?”
“Investigating vendor payments.”
My stomach tightened.
“Six years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Was Michael involved?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Not directly.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means Charles didn’t want certain questions asked.”
“What questions?”
Daniel looked at me.
“About Victor Hale.”
I sat down.
Grace leaned forward.
“Go on.”
Daniel took a slow breath.
“Charles and Victor had a history.”
“What kind?”
“They were partners before they became competitors.”
I had never heard that.
“Michael said they hated each other.”
“They did.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor believed Charles stole the company from him.”
Daniel’s voice remained measured.
“In the early nineties, they developed a logistics technology together. Charles formed Carter Systems. Victor claimed Charles cut him out of ownership.”
“Was that true?”
“I don’t know.”
“But six years ago?”
“Victor contacted me.”
I stared at him.
“You were talking to our competitor.”
“He claimed someone inside Carter was selling him information.”
I blinked.
“What?”
Daniel nodded.
“He said it had been happening for years.”
“Who?”
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
“Why contact you?”
“He wanted it stopped.”
“That makes no sense.”
Grace spoke for the first time.
“Unless Victor didn’t want stolen information. He wanted leverage.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Exactly.”
I thought about the photograph of Daniel with Victor and Michael entering an office.
“Why did Charles try to fire you?”
“I told him.”
“And?”
“He ordered me to stop.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked at his hands.
“He said the past needed to stay buried.”
My skin prickled.
“What past?”
“I never found out.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
His answer surprised me.
“You shouldn’t believe anyone without evidence.”
“Including you?”
“Especially me.”
The room went quiet.
Grace’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Daniel continued.
“I was demoted for six months. Charles told the board it was a restructuring.”
“Then how did you become CFO again?”
“Rebecca convinced him to restore me.”
“Did Michael know?”
“Some of it.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
I showed Daniel the photograph of him and Lauren at the restaurant.
He stared at it.
“Where did you get this?”
“Anonymous messages.”
His face tightened.
“What else have they sent?”
I showed him everything.
He read slowly.
Then handed me the phone.
“You’re being manipulated.”
“By whom?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s convenient.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He stood.
“The photograph with Lauren is exactly what it appears to be. I was using her to gather information.”
“Using her?”
“She agreed.”
“Did Rebecca know?”
“No.”
“Michael?”
“Obviously not.”
“And the photo with Victor?”
Daniel’s eyes changed.
“That meeting was three months ago.”
“Why was Michael there?”
“He asked for it.”
I stared at him.
“Michael asked to meet Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He said he wanted to discuss settlement of an old dispute between the families.”
“Did you believe him?”
“No.”
“But you went.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to hear what Victor said.”
“What happened?”
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“Almost nothing.”
“What does that mean?”
“Michael asked Victor whether Hale Industries would consider purchasing one of our divisions.”
Rebecca had never mentioned that.
“Which division?”
“Government systems.”
My stomach tightened.
That division held some of the company’s most valuable contracts.
“Was Michael allowed to sell it?”
“Not without board approval.”
“So why approach Victor?”
“That’s what I wanted to know.”
“What did Victor say?”
“No.”
“Just no?”
“He told Michael that Charles had already stolen enough from his family.”
I frowned.
“His family?”
Daniel nodded.
“Then Michael said something strange.”
“What?”
“He said, ‘You got paid once. Don’t pretend you didn’t.’”
I felt cold.
“What did that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Grace looked at Daniel.
“Was the meeting recorded?”
“No.”
“Any minutes?”
“No.”
“Emails arranging it?”
“Yes.”
“Preserve them.”
“Already done.”
My phone rang.
Rebecca.
I answered.
“Where are you?”
“Still at headquarters.”
“Come to my office.”
“Why?”
Her voice shook.
“Police are here.”
My heart dropped.
“For Michael?”
“No.”
A pause.
“For Lauren.”
I stood.
“What happened?”
“They found her car.”
My mouth went dry.
“Where?”
“Airport parking garage.”
“Is she okay?”
Rebecca went silent too long.
“Rebecca.”
“They can’t find her.”
Grace was already standing.
We hurried upstairs.
Two detectives waited in Rebecca’s office.
One introduced himself as Detective Aaron Mills.
The other was Detective Sandra Ortiz.
Ortiz looked at me.
“Mrs. Carter?”
“Yes.”
“We understand you spoke with Ms. Matthews yesterday.”
My heart hammered.
“Yes.”
“What was the nature of that conversation?”
I looked at Grace.
Grace answered.
“My client is willing to cooperate, but any questions touching corporate finances should be coordinated carefully.”
Ortiz nodded.
“We’re currently investigating a missing person.”
Missing.
Not dead.
I held onto the word.
“What happened?”
Mills opened a notebook.
“Ms. Matthews’ sister reported her missing this morning. She missed a scheduled meeting with her attorney.”
I thought about the laptop.
The recorder.
“Did she leave town?”
“Her vehicle was found at the airport, but we have no record of her boarding a flight.”
“Security cameras?”
“We’re reviewing them.”
I hesitated.
Then told them about the recorder.
The laptop.
Michael demanding both.
Ortiz’s expression sharpened.
“When did Michael Carter visit her apartment?”
“Yesterday morning.”
“Did Ms. Matthews indicate he threatened her?”
“She said he scared her.”
Grace added, “She stated Mr. Carter warned that certain files could send both of them to prison.”
Mills wrote rapidly.
I felt sick.
Then Ortiz asked the question I dreaded.
“Do you know where her laptop is?”
“No.”
I paused.
“She said she hid it.”
“Did she give any hint where?”
“No.”
The detectives exchanged a glance.
Rebecca sat behind her desk looking pale.
Mills closed his notebook.
“One more thing.”
He pulled out a printed photograph.
“Do you recognize this man?”
I looked at it.
The man was about sixty.
Gray hair.
Expensive coat.
I had seen him only once.
In the anonymous photograph.
“Victor Hale.”
Mills nodded.
“Ms. Matthews met with him yesterday afternoon.”
My stomach dropped.
“After she met me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We were hoping you could tell us.”
I couldn’t.
The detectives left twenty minutes later.
Rebecca locked the door.
“What the hell is happening?”
Daniel stood near the window.
“I don’t know.”
Rebecca turned on him.
“You knew Lauren was helping you.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
“I couldn’t risk it.”
“You couldn’t risk telling the acting chair of the board?”
“No.”
Rebecca stared at him.
“I defended you to my father.”
“I know.”
“I restored your job.”
“I know.”
“And you’ve been running your own investigation inside our company?”
Daniel looked tired.
“Because every time I raised concerns, someone buried them.”
The accusation hung in the room.
Rebecca went pale.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
This time, there was no text.
Only a video.
I pressed play.
Lauren appeared on screen.
She was sitting somewhere dark.
Her hair was messy.
She looked terrified.
“Emily, if you’re seeing this, something happened.”
Rebecca moved beside me.
Daniel stared.
Lauren continued.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you. But you need to know the truth.”
She swallowed.
“Michael stole money.”
My chest tightened.
“But he wasn’t the one selling company secrets.”
The video shook.
Lauren looked over her shoulder.
Then back at the camera.
“It was someone else.”
She leaned closer.
“Someone your family trusts.”
A door slammed somewhere behind her.
Lauren flinched.
Then she whispered one name.
May you like
“Rebecca.”
The video ended.
