Chapter 15 - What the Bank Logs Showed
The bank could not tell Tiana who had accessed her account.
Not immediately.
But it could tell her when.
February 17 at 9:42 p.m.
February 18 at 12:11 a.m.
March 2 at 3:36 p.m.
All through a browser Tiana did not recognize.
None of those sessions had initiated transfers.
They had only viewed account information.
Balances.
Statements.
Transaction history.
That bothered Marcus more than theft would have.
“They were studying you,” he said.
Tiana sat across from him in Karen’s conference room.
Karen nodded.
“Possibly.”
The cybersecurity consultant, Malik Foster, turned his laptop toward them.
“Your email account shows the same unauthorized device.”
Tiana rubbed her arms.
“How?”
“Likely password reuse.”
“I used one password for everything.”
Marcus gave her a look.
“I know,” she said. “I know.”
Malik continued.
“Do you remember entering your credentials anywhere unusual?”
Tiana thought.
Then remembered a link Chanel had sent.
A private invitation to LuxeCircle’s investor portal.
“I created an account.”
“Same password?”
“Yes.”
Malik nodded.
“Could have been credential harvesting. Could also be unrelated. We need evidence before drawing conclusions.”
Karen added, “That distinction is important.”
Tiana appreciated their discipline.
No dramatic accusation.
No certainty without proof.
Everything Marcus had demanded from her emotionally, these professionals demanded factually.
What was true?
What could be proved?
What merely felt true?
Karen turned toward Marcus.
“We also completed the corporate search you requested before the birthday.”
Tiana looked sharply at him.
“So Chanel was right.”
Marcus did not deny it.
“Yes.”
“You investigated her.”
“I investigated LuxeCircle.”
“When?”
“Two weeks before your birthday.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Marcus glanced at Karen.
She gathered her folders.
“I’ll give you five minutes.”
After she left, Tiana crossed her arms.
“You already knew LuxeCircle was suspicious.”
“I suspected.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I was trying to verify.”
“You knew I had invested?”
“No.”
“Then what made you investigate?”
Marcus leaned back.
“You kept talking about Darius.”
“I mentioned him.”
“You told me he’d doubled somebody’s money.”
“He claimed he had.”
“You said Chanel thought I should meet him.”
“Yes.”
“That sounded like recruitment.”
“So you checked.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“I found no real-estate holdings matching the scale they advertised.”
“You could’ve warned me.”
“I planned to.”
“When?”
Marcus hesitated.
“After your birthday.”
Tiana laughed bitterly.
“Everything was after my birthday.”
“The birthday mattered to me.”
“So much that you turned it into an examination.”
Marcus absorbed the criticism.
“You’re right.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Because I thought you’d defend Chanel.”
“I probably would have.”
“That doesn’t justify hiding it.”
“No.”
Tiana appreciated the answer even while angry.
Marcus continued.
“There’s another reason.”
“What?”
“I wanted proof.”
“Proof of LuxeCircle being fraudulent?”
“No.”
He looked ashamed.
“Proof that Chanel was influencing you.”
Tiana stared.
“So the car test wasn’t just about me.”
“No.”
“You wanted to see what happened when my friends were present.”
“Yes.”
Tiana stood.
“That’s worse.”
“I know.”
“You staged a social experiment.”
“I know.”
“You brought Alicia.”
“She was delivering paperwork anyway.”
“You put your father’s car in the driveway.”
“I know.”
“And then you watched me.”
Marcus stood too.
“Yes.”
Tiana looked at him.
“I hurt you.”
“Yes.”
“But you were waiting for me to.”
The words struck him.
“That’s what I can’t get past.”
Marcus’s face changed.
Tiana continued.
“You didn’t come into my birthday hoping I’d surprise you in a good way.”
“I did.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You came prepared to have your suspicion confirmed.”
Marcus remained silent.
“If I’d thanked you, you would’ve been relieved. But part of you expected me to fail.”
“Yes.”
The admission hurt them both.
Tiana picked up her bag.
“I need some space too.”
Marcus nodded.
“I understand.”
At the door, she turned.
“And for the record?”
“Yes?”
“If you had told me LuxeCircle looked suspicious, I might have gotten angry.”
“I know.”
“I might have defended Chanel.”
“I know.”
“But maybe I wouldn’t have lost twelve thousand dollars.”
Marcus looked down.
“That’s something I’ll have to live with.”
Tiana left before either of them could transform the conversation into another argument about whose betrayal mattered more.
Back in Karen’s conference room, Malik had new information.
“We found the IP addresses from the suspicious logins.”
Tiana stopped.
“Can you identify them?”
“Not a person. But two resolve to a residential internet provider in the same geographic area.”
“Where?”
Malik showed her the map.
Buckhead.
Tiana’s chest tightened.
Chanel lived in Buckhead.
So did thousands of other people.
Not proof.
Then Malik pointed to a third login.
“This one is more interesting.”
“Why?”
“The March second session came through Wi-Fi associated with a commercial location.”
“Which location?”
He enlarged the screen.
Tiana recognized the address instantly.
Bishop House.
The restaurant where she had eaten dinner with Chanel and Darius.
The restaurant where Darius had secretly recorded her.
The restaurant where she had logged into nothing.
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Someone else had.
While she was sitting at the table.
