Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Photograph
Emma enlarged the photograph.
Victor was unmistakable.
His silver hair, expensive watch, and familiar expression made her stomach tighten.
Madison sat beside him in a black dress.
She was smiling.
On the table between them lay a document with the Northstar logo.
Emma saved the photograph.
Then she called the number.
It rang once.
Twice.
A man answered.
“Mrs. Caldwell?”
“Who is this?”
“My name is Daniel Mercer. I work in corporate compliance.”
“Why are you sending me photographs of my father-in-law?”
“Because I believe you're the only person who can stop what's happening.”
Emma stepped out of the elevator into the lobby.
“Tell me what you know.”
“Not over the phone.”
“Then tell me where to meet you.”
“There's a café on Wacker Drive. Forty minutes.”
Emma considered refusing.
Then she looked through the glass doors toward the street.
“Fine.”
The café was nearly empty when she arrived.
Daniel was in his early fifties, with tired eyes and a nervous habit of adjusting his glasses.
He placed a thick envelope on the table.
“I've been reviewing unusual transactions at Northstar for four months.”
Emma opened it.
The first page showed a list of payments to a consulting company.
The second showed invoices for services that appeared to have no supporting documentation.
The third listed Madison Pierce as an authorized contact.
“How much money?” Emma asked.
“Approximately four million dollars.”
Emma looked up.
“Four million?”
“Possibly more. We haven't completed the review.”
“Who received it?”
“A company called Pierce Strategic Holdings.”
Emma's mouth went dry.
“Madison?”
“It's registered to a family trust. The beneficial ownership isn't completely clear.”
“But you suspect her.”
“I suspect a coordinated scheme involving Madison and Victor Caldwell.”
Emma turned another page.
There were dates, amounts, account numbers, and approval references.
Some of the transactions had been approved under Grant's digital signature.
Others carried Victor's old credentials.
“Does Grant know?”
“I don't believe he knows the full extent.”
“Why?”
“Because the authorization process was designed to make the transactions look like legitimate executive expenses.”
Emma stared at the paperwork.
“Why come to me?”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Because the company is preparing to announce a major acquisition. If these irregularities are discovered afterward, Northstar could face serious legal and financial consequences.”
“Then report it to the board.”
“I tried.”
“And?”
“My report disappeared.”
Emma looked at him.
“What?”
“The original compliance report was removed from the system. My access was restricted the following morning.”
“Who restricted it?”
“Madison.”
Emma leaned back.
“She's an executive assistant.”
“She has more authority than her job title suggests.”
The photograph suddenly made more sense.
“What did Victor want from her?”
Daniel hesitated.
“He wants control of Northstar.”
“Why?”
“Because he believes Grant is making a mistake by refusing to sell the company.”
Emma frowned.
“To whom?”
Daniel slid another document across the table.
A company called Halcyon Capital.
The name meant nothing to her.
But the proposed acquisition price was staggering.
Northstar would be sold for nearly twice its estimated market value.
“Why would Grant refuse that?”
“Because the acquisition includes a condition that would terminate hundreds of existing employee contracts and dismantle the residential development division.”
Emma's own design company supplied architectural services to several of those projects.
She knew what those contracts meant.
Thousands of jobs.
Entire communities.
“Grant wouldn't agree to that.”
“Then someone is trying to make him look as though he already has.”
Emma stared at the document.
“Can you prove it?”
Daniel nodded.
“I have copies of the original approvals.”
“Where?”
“Some are in the envelope. Others are stored offline.”
“Why haven't you given them to the authorities?”
“Because I need to know who I can trust.”
Emma closed the envelope.
“You can trust me to find out the truth.”
Daniel studied her.
“Mrs. Caldwell, there's something else.”
“What?”
He took out a final sheet.
It was a copy of a wire transfer.
The recipient wasn't Madison's company.
It was an account belonging to a trust registered in Emma's name.
She stared at it.
“I've never seen this.”
“That's what I thought.”
“How much?”
“Six hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
Emma felt cold.
“Where did it come from?”
“The same network of transactions.”
“Who authorized it?”
Daniel pointed to the bottom.
The signature was hers.
Or, at least, it looked like hers.
Emma recognized the signature immediately.
It was nearly perfect.
But the date was impossible.
She had been in the hospital that day, recovering from emergency surgery.
She had not signed anything.
“Someone forged my name.”
Daniel nodded.
“And if this transaction is investigated without the full records, you could become part of the fraud inquiry.”
Emma closed her eyes.
Now she understood.
Someone wasn't merely stealing from Northstar.
They were building a case against her.
Her phone rang.
Grant.
She answered.
“Where are you?”
“Downtown.”
“I need you to come home.”
“What happened?”
A pause.
Then he said, “The board just received a report accusing you of transferring company funds into a private account.”
Emma looked at Daniel.
The color had drained from his face.
“Grant, listen to me—”
“They have your signature.”
“It's forged.”
“I want to believe you.”
Emma's heart sank.
“You want to believe me?”
“Emma, I have to be careful.”
She stood.
“Then be careful with the truth, Grant. Not with your excuses.”
She ended the call.
Daniel gathered the papers.
“We need to move quickly.”
Emma nodded.
But before either of them could leave, a text arrived.
This time, it came from Madison.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED HOME. NOW EVERYONE WILL KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY ARE.
A second message followed.
It contained a photograph of Lily leaving her school.
May you like
Emma stopped breathing.
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