Chapter 6 - The Code That Wasn’t Stolen
Adrian stared at the transaction record until the numbers blurred.
His authorization code appeared at the bottom.
A code known to four people.
Adrian.
Marcus Reed.
His executive assistant.
And Celeste.
He had given it to her once.
Three months earlier.
A mistake he could barely admit to himself now.
They had been traveling to London when Marcus needed emergency approval for a charitable transfer. Adrian’s phone battery had died. Celeste had entered the code while he dictated it.
He had changed it afterward.
Or thought he had.
“Could the record be fabricated?” Adrian asked.
Marcus shook his head.
“Not easily.”
“Could Celeste have used an archived credential?”
“Possibly.”
“Could someone else?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Anyone with administrator-level access.”
“How many?”
“Six.”
Adrian looked through the conference-room glass at downtown Manhattan below.
His company occupied forty-two floors.
For the first time, the building felt full of strangers.
“Freeze the Helix acquisition.”
Marcus stared.
“The board will lose its mind.”
“Let them.”
“We’re twelve days from the vote.”
“Not anymore.”
Marcus closed the laptop.
“There’s something else.”
Adrian looked at him.
“The code was used from a terminal inside this building.”
“What floor?”
Marcus swallowed.
“Executive level.”
Meanwhile, Evelyn asked Naomi to come to the hospital.
Adrian was still in Manhattan when Naomi entered.
Evelyn looked stronger than the day before but angry at needing help to sit upright.
“You met Celeste.”
It was not a question.
Naomi stopped.
“How did you know?”
“Detective Ortiz told me.”
“She showed me a photograph.”
Evelyn’s face hardened.
“Martin.”
“She says you framed him.”
“I testified.”
“Truthfully?”
“Yes.”
Naomi pulled a chair closer.
“What did you testify to?”
“That Martin authorized transfers he denied authorizing.”
“Did he steal?”
Evelyn looked toward the window.
“I believed so.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is the only honest one.”
Naomi waited.
Evelyn sighed.
“Richard handled the investigation. Martin’s signature appeared on documents. Accounts connected to him received money.”
“Connected how?”
“Companies formed in his name.”
“Like Harbor Crest is connected to Voss?”
Evelyn turned.
Naomi held her gaze.
“That’s different.”
“Is it?”
Evelyn’s mouth tightened.
Naomi continued.
“Why did you keep Martin’s archive?”
“I didn’t know the flash drive was in that folder.”
“Then what did you keep?”
“Paper files. Letters. Copies of transactions.”
“Why?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Because after Richard died, I found discrepancies.”
Naomi felt the room shift.
“What discrepancies?”
“Dates that did not match. Transfers approved while Martin was overseas. Signatures copied onto later documents.”
“You discovered he might have been framed.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
Naomi stared.
“One year before Martin died.”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Evelyn’s composure cracked.
“Because Adrian was about to take Vale Meridian public.”
Naomi said nothing.
“The company had survived,” Evelyn whispered. “Thousands of employees depended on it. If I reopened the scandal, everything Richard built could have collapsed.”
“So you protected the company.”
“I protected my son.”
“By letting another man die disgraced.”
Evelyn looked wounded.
Naomi did not apologize.
“You asked me not to trust Celeste’s crying,” Naomi said. “Maybe she learned something from this family.”
Evelyn’s eyes flashed.
“Do not confuse what I did with attempted murder.”
“I’m not.”
“Good.”
“I’m saying secrets don’t stay where you bury them.”
That silenced Evelyn.
After a moment, she said, “Lydia has the paper archive.”
“Why didn’t you give it to police?”
“Because until this week, I didn’t know whether it proved innocence or merely raised questions.”
“Now?”
“Now I think Celeste found out.”
“How?”
“Dr. Voss.”
Naomi leaned forward.
“Why would he know?”
“Because Richard paid for his education.”
“Celeste said that.”
Evelyn looked surprised.
“Voss’s father worked for Vale Meridian. After an industrial accident, Richard supported Malcolm privately.”
“Was Richard generous?”
“No.”
The bluntness startled Naomi.
“Then why?”
“I never knew.”
Adrian entered halfway through the conversation.
He had heard the last sentence.
“What didn’t you know?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Too much.”
Adrian placed a file on the table.
“The Helix payment was approved using my code.”
Naomi’s face tightened.
Evelyn whispered, “Celeste.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“The terminal was inside Vale Meridian.”
Evelyn stared.
Adrian continued.
“And the access log shows the transaction was made at 9:16 p.m. last Thursday.”
Naomi remembered something.
“Celeste wasn’t in Manhattan.”
Adrian looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“She was here.”
“With Mom?”
“With me.”
Evelyn nodded slowly.
“We were all having dinner.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
For the first time, a new possibility entered the room.
Celeste had forged documents.
Celeste had attacked Evelyn.
But someone else had authorized the money.
Someone with Adrian’s credentials.
Someone inside Vale Meridian.
Someone who wanted the family blaming Celeste while the Helix vote moved forward.
Adrian’s phone rang.
Marcus.
Adrian answered.
“What did you find?”
Marcus did not greet him.
“We found the terminal.”
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“And?”
“It’s in my office.”
