Chapter 36 - The Betrayer at the Table
Rebecca was found two hours later in a public library twenty miles away.
Ethan brought her into a conference room.
She looked terrified.
Claire sat across from her.
“Tell me everything.”
Rebecca rubbed her hands together.
“My father knows I talked to you.”
“How?”
“He tracks me.”
Martin's expression darkened.
“Why?”
“He thinks I have something.”
“What?”
Rebecca looked at Claire.
“A list.”
“What list?”
“The people who were paid to keep the company clean.”
Claire frowned.
“That sounds like a good thing.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“No. It shows who took money to hide the criminal accounts.”
Jonathan leaned forward.
“Names?”
Rebecca nodded.
“I copied them.”
“Where are they?”
She touched the inside pocket of her coat.
“I have them.”
Martin glanced at Margaret.
“Get her protection.”
Margaret nodded.
Rebecca pulled out a small flash drive.
“I don't know if it's complete.”
Wesley took it.
“I can inspect it.”
Margaret said, “Only on a secure system.”
Wesley nodded.
Twenty minutes later, the files opened.
There were sixty-seven names.
Bank records.
Payment schedules.
Meeting dates.
Corporate signatures.
Claire scanned the list.
Then stopped.
“No.”
Martin looked over her shoulder.
“What?”
She pointed.
At the top of the document were three names.
Victor Hale.
Daniel Pierce.
And…
Jonathan Reed.
Claire looked up.
Jonathan was standing behind them.
“What?”
The room went completely silent.
Jonathan stared at the screen.
“That can't be right.”
Claire's heart pounded.
“Your name is here.”
“I know.”
Martin stepped between them.
“Explain.”
Jonathan looked horrified.
“I worked for your company for twenty-two years.”
“Were you ever paid by my father?”
“No.”
“Were you ever part of his legal structure?”
“No.”
Rebecca stared at him.
“But the file says you were.”
Jonathan opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Margaret stepped closer.
“Don't say anything until we verify the document.”
Martin looked at her.
“You think it's fake?”
“I think we should assume nothing.”
Wesley checked the metadata.
“That's strange.”
“What?”
“The file was modified yesterday.”
Rebecca's face went pale.
“Yesterday?”
Wesley nodded.
“Someone inserted the names recently.”
Claire looked at Jonathan.
“Why yours?”
Jonathan shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Margaret looked at Rebecca.
“Who had access to this?”
“My father.”
“Who else?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“The person who gave it to him.”
“Who?”
Rebecca whispered.
“I don't know his real name.”
Martin's eyes narrowed.
“Describe him.”
“Late forties. Dark hair. Scar on his chin.”
Ethan suddenly looked up.
“I know him.”
Claire turned.
“Who?”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“Name was Mark Ellison.”
Martin stared.
“That isn't his name.”
Ethan nodded.
“He used another identity when he worked security.”
“For whom?”
Ethan answered.
“Caleb's family.”
Claire felt another shock.
“What?”
Ethan looked at Martin.
“He was assigned to Caleb's household for years.”
Martin shook his head.
“Caleb trusted him.”
“Maybe that's why he was useful.”
The room fell quiet.
Claire turned toward Wesley.
“Search the foundation.”
“What?”
“Every employee.”
Jonathan looked stunned.
“You think the person is inside?”
“Rebecca said so.”
Wesley pulled up the personnel database.
They reviewed names.
Accountants.
Assistants.
Contractors.
Board members.
Donors.
Nothing.
Then Claire noticed one unfamiliar name.
“Nora Bennett.”
Jonathan frowned.
“She isn't staff.”
“Then why is she in the system?”
Wesley opened the record.
“She consults on compliance.”
Margaret looked at the screen.
“When was she hired?”
“Three weeks ago.”
Claire stared.
“Who approved her?”
Wesley clicked.
“Temporary board vote.”
“Who?”
He displayed the names.
Claire's stomach dropped.
“Two current directors.”
Martin looked at her.
“Who?”
Claire whispered.
“Directors appointed by the court after the asset recovery.”
Margaret stepped forward.
“Where is Nora now?”
Wesley checked.
“Still in the building.”
Ethan was already moving.
They reached the foundation office minutes later.
Nora Bennett was sitting at a desk.
She was calm.
Too calm.
Claire walked in.
“Nora.”
The woman looked up.
“Yes?”
Margaret stood beside Claire.
“We need to talk.”
Nora closed her laptop.
“About what?”
“The employee records.”
Nora smiled.
“What about them?”
Claire placed a printed page in front of her.
“Your name.”
Nora's smile disappeared.
“That's not a crime.”
“No.”
Claire leaned forward.
“Forging my attorney's name into a criminal payment ledger is.”
Nora went completely still.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Margaret said, “Then you won't mind if we inspect your devices.”
Nora stood.
“I have rights.”
“So do the people you've been threatening.”
Nora's eyes moved toward the door.
Ethan blocked it.
She sat down.
Wesley walked over.
“Your laptop.”
“No.”
“Then we'll subpoena it.”
Nora looked at him.
“You think this is about a laptop?”
“What is it about?”
She laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
Claire stared.
“Explain.”
Nora looked directly at Martin.
“Your father left something.”
Martin's voice was cold.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“Because it's true.”
“What?”
“A contingency.”
Claire felt the word hit her.
“What contingency?”
Nora's smile returned.
“If the network was exposed, the company would have to be destroyed.”
Martin froze.
“Why?”
“Because the company was designed to carry the records.”
Claire stared.
“The records of what?”
Nora whispered.
“Every person who ever helped your father.”
Jonathan stepped forward.
“That sounds like blackmail.”
“It was.”
Margaret asked, “Where is the file?”
Nora looked at Claire.
“You already have the beginning.”
“Where is the rest?”
Nora smiled.
“You're asking the wrong question again.”
Claire's patience snapped.
“What is the right question?”
Nora leaned forward.
“Why did Martin's father create the foundation in the first place?”
Claire went cold.
Martin's face lost color.
“That foundation existed before I did.”
Nora nodded.
“Exactly.”
“Who founded it?”
Nora looked at Claire.
“Your mother.”
Claire stopped breathing.
Martin whispered, “That's impossible.”
Nora smiled.
“Then ask yourself why your mother knew about the money.”
She stood.
“And why she never told you.”
Before anyone could stop her, she pulled a small vial from her pocket and swallowed its contents.
Ethan caught her as she collapsed.
Claire screamed for an ambulance.
Margaret immediately called emergency services.
Nora's eyes opened once.
She looked directly at Claire.
“The foundation was never built to give money away.”
May you like
Her voice faded.
“It was built to return it.”
