“What?”
“Complaint filed at 9:42 p.m.”
“Against Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“Who filed it?”
Richard frowned.
“It was submitted anonymously.”
Daniel looked at the screen.
“Open it.”
Richard opened the file.
The complaint was short.
Manager discriminates against guests based on appearance. Employees are instructed to prioritize wealthy customers. Complaints are being deleted.
Daniel stared at the words.
“That’s exactly what we found.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Whoever wrote this knew what was happening.”
Richard scrolled down.
“There’s an attachment.”
He opened it.
A photograph appeared.
Daniel went completely still.
It showed Vanessa standing in a back office.
Beside her was Gregory Shaw.
They were looking at a spreadsheet.
Daniel zoomed in.
At the top of the spreadsheet was a list of guest names.
Beside each name were dollar amounts.
Some were marked green.
Others red.
Daniel whispered:
“They were ranking customers.”
Richard nodded.
“But that’s not the worst part.”
He opened another attachment.
This one was a recording.
A woman’s voice could be heard.
Vanessa.
“Gregory said corporate won’t investigate as long as the numbers look good.”
A man’s voice responded.
Gregory.
“Daniel isn’t paying attention anymore. He’s too busy being a father.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
The recording continued.
Vanessa laughed.
“Then we can keep doing this?”
Gregory answered:
“Until the ownership structure changes.”
Daniel stopped breathing for a moment.
“Ownership structure?”
Richard paused the recording.
Daniel looked at him.
“Play it.”
Richard did.
Gregory’s voice continued.
“Once Daniel transfers enough authority to the executive group, he won’t be able to interfere.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Why would I transfer authority?”
Richard looked at him.
“That may be the question we need to answer.”
Daniel suddenly remembered a document Gregory had brought him six months earlier.
A restructuring proposal.
Daniel had refused to sign it.
The proposal would have given the executive board greater authority over major operational decisions.
Gregory had said it would make Daniel’s life easier.
Daniel had thrown it into a drawer.
He had never thought about it again.
Until now.
“Richard.”
“Yes?”
“Check whether that proposal was ever filed.”
Richard searched.
His face changed.
“It was.”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“I never signed it.”
“I know.”
“Then who did?”
Richard looked at the screen.
There was a signature.
Daniel’s signature.
Perfectly copied.
Daniel stared at it.
Someone had forged his name.
But there was something else.
The document had been notarized.
Daniel looked at Richard.
“Who was the notary?”
Richard searched.
Then went completely silent.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Richard?”
He turned the laptop around.
The notary’s name was listed.
Elaine Mercer.
Daniel froze.
Elaine.
His late wife’s name.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Daniel whispered:
“That’s impossible.”
Richard looked at him carefully.
“Your wife died three years ago.”
“I know.”
“So someone deliberately used her name.”
Daniel stared at the document.
His wife’s death certificate had been filed three years earlier.
Nobody could legally have notarized anything under her identity.
Unless—
Daniel’s mind raced.
“Who has access to her old identification records?”
Richard immediately looked at Marcus.
Marcus shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Daniel picked up the document.
His hands were trembling.
Then his phone rang.
This time, the caller ID displayed a number.
Daniel answered.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice whispered:
“Daniel?”
He recognized it immediately.
His wife’s sister.
“Claire?”
She was crying.
“Daniel, I should have told you this months ago.”
Daniel stood completely still.
“Told me what?”
Claire’s voice broke.
“Your wife didn’t die without leaving something behind.”
Daniel’s heart stopped.
“What are you talking about?”
“I found a letter.”
“What letter?”
“It was hidden in her old safety deposit box.”
Daniel’s grip tightened around the phone.
“What does it say?”
Claire hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Your wife knew someone was stealing from Bellmont.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Claire continued.
“And she knew the person responsible.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
“Who?”
Claire’s voice dropped to almost a whisper.
“Gregory Shaw.”
The room went silent.
Daniel looked across the conference table.
Marcus.
Richard.
The forged document.
The missing money.
Vanessa.
Gregory.
And suddenly, the pieces began connecting.
But Claire wasn’t finished.
“There was another name in the letter.”
Daniel’s voice was barely audible.
“Whose?”
Claire took a shaky breath.
“Yours.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
“What do you mean?”
“She wrote that if anything happened to her…”
Claire started crying again.
“…you were not to trust anyone inside Bellmont Hospitality.”
Daniel looked at Richard.
Then Marcus.
Then the locked door.
And for the first time in years, Daniel wondered whether his wife’s death had truly been an accident.
Because someone had spent three years making sure he never asked that question.
And now that he finally had…
Someone was already moving to stop him.
PART 5
Claire’s breathing shook through the phone.
“Daniel, you need to listen to me carefully.”
Daniel stood completely still.
Across the conference room, Richard and Marcus were watching him.
“What did she write?” Daniel asked.
Claire swallowed.
“She said if anything happened to her, you would probably believe it was an accident.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“My wife died in a car accident.”
“I know.”
“You were there.”
“I know.”
“Then what are you telling me?”
Claire’s voice broke.
“She didn’t trust the brakes.”
Daniel felt the room disappear around him.
Three years earlier.
A rainy Thursday evening.
His wife, Anna, had left the Bellmont headquarters shortly after seven.
She had kissed Sophie goodbye.
She had promised Daniel she’d be home before bedtime.
At 8:26 p.m., the police called.
There had been an accident on the interstate.
A truck had crossed the median.
Anna’s car had been destroyed.
The investigation concluded that she had lost control before the collision.
Daniel had never questioned it.
He had been too devastated.
Too focused on Sophie.
Too broken to investigate anything.
Now Claire was telling him Anna had suspected something.
“Where is the letter?” Daniel asked.
“I’m holding it.”
“Bring it to me.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because someone broke into my apartment last night.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
“Are you safe?”
“I’m staying with a friend.”
“Don’t leave.”
“I won’t.”
“Send me the location.”
“No.”
“Claire—”
“Daniel, listen.”
Her voice became urgent.
“Whoever is behind this knows we’re talking.”
Daniel looked toward the conference room door.
“Why?”
“Because the letter wasn’t the only thing in the box.”
“What else was there?”
“A flash drive.”
Daniel’s heart began pounding.
“What was on it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why?”
“Because I haven’t opened it.”
“Why not?”
“Because the moment I found it, I received a message.”
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“What message?”
Claire whispered:
“Tell Daniel to stop digging.”
The line went silent.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“Claire?”
Nothing.
“Claire!”
The call had ended.
Richard immediately stood.
“We need to get her somewhere secure.”
Daniel nodded.
“Get private security to her location.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Daniel turned toward Marcus.
“Lock every executive account.”
Marcus nodded.
“Everyone?”
“Everyone except mine and yours.”
Marcus hesitated.
“Daniel, if the person who did this has access to the system—”
“That’s why I want everything frozen.”
Richard closed his laptop.
“And Gregory?”
Daniel looked at the clock.
“Find him.”
“We already tried.”
“Try again.”
“What if he refuses to come in?”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“Then we’ll go to him.”
Gregory Shaw’s office was empty.
His assistant said he had called in sick.
His house was empty.
His car wasn’t in the garage.
And his personal phone had been switched off.
Daniel stood in Gregory’s office looking at the empty desk.
For eleven years, Gregory had sat there.
He had advised Daniel’s father.
He had helped build Bellmont Hospitality.
He had attended Daniel’s wedding.
He had held baby Sophie after she was born.
He had stood beside Daniel at Anna’s funeral.
He had told Daniel:
“I’m here for you.”
Now Daniel looked around the office and realized something terrifying.
Gregory hadn’t been standing beside him.
He had been standing behind him.
Waiting.
Watching.
Planning.
Richard entered carrying a laptop.
“We found something.”
Daniel turned.
“What?”
“Gregory accessed the company archive at 2:13 this morning.”
Daniel frowned.
“After the investigation?”
“Yes.”
“What did he access?”
Richard hesitated.
“Anna’s personnel file.”
Daniel’s heart dropped.
“Why?”
“We don’t know.”
“Can you track what he opened?”
Richard nodded.
“He accessed an archived legal folder.”
Daniel walked closer.
“What folder?”
Richard turned the screen.
The title appeared.
Project Meridian.
Daniel stared at it.
“What is Project Meridian?”
Richard looked at Marcus.
Marcus shook his head.
“I’ve never heard of it.”
Daniel had.
Not the project itself.
But the name.
Anna had used it once.
Three months before her death.
Daniel remembered sitting at their kitchen table.
Anna had been staring at her laptop.
He had asked what she was working on.
She had smiled and said:
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
He had kissed her forehead.
He had trusted her.
Now he wished he hadn’t.
“Open it,” Daniel said.
Richard tried.
Access denied.
“Gregory changed the permissions.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Can we override it?”
“Not without triggering an alert.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Then trigger it.”
Richard hesitated.
“That will tell whoever is watching that we’ve found the folder.”
Daniel’s answer was immediate.
“Good.”
Richard entered the command.
The system began decrypting the folder.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Then the screen went black.
Marcus frowned.
“That’s not supposed to happen.”
Richard checked the network.
“Someone just remotely shut down the archive server.”
Daniel stared at the screen.
“Someone knows.”
Suddenly, every light in the office flickered.
Then the fire alarm began screaming.
Employees started shouting in the hallway.
Richard looked toward the door.
“What is happening?”
Daniel grabbed his phone.
“Everyone out.”
They rushed into the hallway.
Smoke wasn’t visible.
But employees were already moving toward the emergency exits.
Daniel suddenly stopped.
“Where’s Sophie?”
Richard looked confused.
“She isn’t here.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“No.”
He immediately called Sophie’s school.
A receptionist answered.
“Bellmont Academy.”
“This is Daniel Mercer. I need to speak with my daughter’s teacher.”
“One moment.”
Daniel waited.
The seconds felt endless.
Finally, the teacher answered.
“Mr. Mercer?”
“Is Sophie there?”
There was a pause.
“Yes.”
Daniel exhaled.
“Keep her inside.”
“Why?”
“Do not let anyone pick her up.”
The teacher suddenly sounded nervous.
“Mr. Mercer…”
“What?”
“Someone already tried.”
Daniel’s entire body went cold.
“Who?”
“A man came about twenty minutes ago.”
“What man?”
“He said he was your assistant.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Did you let him see her?”
“No. He didn’t have the correct authorization.”
Daniel breathed again.
“Thank you.”
The teacher hesitated.
“He left something.”
“What?”
“A note.”
“What did it say?”
She read it.
“Tell Daniel the past isn’t finished with him.”
Two hours later, Claire arrived at a private security office.
She was carrying a small metal box.
Daniel was waiting.
When she entered, he immediately stood.
Claire hugged him.
Then she began crying.
“I should have told you sooner.”
Daniel didn’t blame her.
“Give me the box.”
She handed it over.
Inside was the flash drive.
A wedding photograph.
And a handwritten letter.
Daniel recognized Anna’s handwriting immediately.
His hands trembled.
He unfolded the paper.
Daniel,
If you’re reading this, something has gone wrong.
I need you to understand something before you believe anyone.
The people who appear loyal are not always loyal.
I discovered money disappearing from Bellmont through a private consulting company.
I traced the company back to people inside the executive office.
Daniel stopped.
Claire watched silently.
He continued.
Gregory is involved.
His jaw tightened.
Then he read the next sentence.
But Gregory isn’t the person I fear most.
Daniel’s eyes moved downward.
The person above him is someone you would never suspect.
The next line had been underlined three times.
Someone who has access to our family.
Daniel stopped reading.
“Who?” Claire whispered.
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
He continued.
If something happens to me, don’t accuse Gregory immediately. He isn’t the top. Find the person who benefits when you stop asking questions.
Then the final sentence:
And protect Sophie.
Daniel lowered the letter.
Claire began crying again.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
He looked at the photograph inside the box.
It was from his wedding.
Anna was smiling.
Daniel was smiling.
Behind them stood the entire Bellmont executive team.
Gregory.
Richard.
Marcus.
And—
Daniel froze.
There was one person standing behind Anna.
A woman Daniel hadn’t thought about in years.
His former personal assistant.
Natalie Brooks.
Daniel stared at the photograph.
Claire noticed.
“Who is she?”
Daniel’s voice was quiet.
“She worked for Anna.”
“Is she still with Bellmont?”
“No.”
“Where is she?”
Daniel remembered.
Natalie had resigned six months before Anna died.
She had said she wanted to move away.
Daniel had never heard from her again.
He turned to Richard.
“Find Natalie Brooks.”
Richard immediately began searching.
Minutes later, he looked up.
“She died.”