Chapter 5: The Office Nobody Was Allowed to Enter
At 7:30 the next morning, Curtis arrived at the warehouse with Margaret and an independent forensic accountant named Peter Lawson.
Isaiah stayed home with Curtis's sister, Elaine.
Curtis had insisted.
He wasn't going to let his son step inside that building again until he understood what had happened.
The warehouse doors opened with a familiar metallic groan.
The smell of cardboard, adhesive tape, and machine oil filled the air.
But the place looked different in daylight.
The unfinished orders had been moved into a separate section. Someone had placed a handwritten sign on the packing table.
*TEMPORARY HOLD — DO NOT PROCESS.*
Curtis recognized Renée's handwriting.
Margaret noticed it too.
“Has anyone contacted the employees?””
“Not yet,” Curtis said.
“I wanted you here first.””
Peter opened his laptop.
“I've already received the accounting records you sent last night. There are inconsistencies in the labor expenses.””
“How serious?””
Peter looked up.
“Potentially very serious. But I need the original transaction logs before I can say more.””
Curtis led them toward the administrative offices.
The main office was unlocked.
The second office wasn't.
It stood behind a frosted glass door at the end of the hallway. Curtis had originally designed it as a secure records room.
Inside were archived contracts, banking documents, supplier agreements, and ownership records.
Curtis tried his key.
The lock didn't turn.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Margaret looked at him.
“Did you change the lock?””
“No.””
“Who has access?””
Curtis took a breath.
“Me, Daniel, and Renée.””
Peter examined the lock.
“Someone may have replaced the cylinder.””
Curtis stepped back.
He called the warehouse manager, Robert.
Robert arrived ten minutes later, holding a coffee cup.
“Morning, Curtis.””
“Robert, when was the last time you entered this room?””
Robert looked toward the door.
“Last Monday.””
“Who else has been inside?””
“Daniel came in on Tuesday. Renée was here Wednesday.””
“Did either of them ask you to change the lock?””
Robert hesitated.
“Actually, Renée asked me to move some files.””
“What files?””
“Old company records. She said they were taking up too much space.””
“Where did you move them?””
Robert looked uncomfortable.
“The disposal area.””
Curtis stared at him.
“You threw away company records?””
“Not exactly. I put them in the locked recycling bins. I didn't know what was inside.””
Margaret immediately stepped forward.
“Were the bins collected?””
Robert nodded.
“Yesterday morning.””
Peter closed his laptop.
“Do you know which disposal company?””
“Greenline Records.””
Margaret wrote it down.
“Don't contact them yet. We'll handle that.””
Curtis looked at Robert.
“Did you see anything unusual when you were moving the files?””
Robert rubbed the back of his neck.
“Renée told me to separate anything with your signature.””
Curtis felt his stomach tighten.
“Why?””
“She said the documents were being updated.””
“Did she explain what that meant?””
“No.””
“Did you ask?””
Robert shook his head.
“I didn't think it was my business.””
Curtis looked through the frosted glass.
He could see the outline of shelves and filing cabinets.
Six years of business records.
And someone had been quietly removing them.
Margaret touched his arm.
“Let's not speculate. We'll preserve what remains and get the disposal records.””
Peter moved to the accounting office.
Curtis followed him.
Within an hour, Peter had identified a pattern.
The three suspicious labor payments weren't isolated.
There were also payments to a consulting company called Reeves Strategic Services.
Curtis recognized the name.
It belonged to Daniel.
“How much?”” he asked.
Peter turned the laptop.
“Approximately eighty-seven thousand dollars over five months.””
Curtis stared at the total.
“Daniel said those were supplier consulting fees.””
“Do you have contracts?””
“I've never seen one.””
Peter opened the payment descriptions.
The first payment was labeled Inventory Optimization.
The second was Distribution Expansion.
The third was Operational Consulting.
Each had been approved using Curtis's digital credentials.
Margaret leaned over the desk.
“Do the invoices contain supporting documentation?””
Peter opened one.
There was a one-page PDF with a generic description of services.
No delivery records.
No detailed breakdown.
No employee names.
Curtis stared at the screen.
“Who approved these?””
“Your account,” Peter replied.
“Who submitted them?””
Peter opened the audit trail.
“Renée's registered tablet.””
The office became silent.
Curtis walked to the window.
He remembered the first time Daniel had proposed bringing Renée into the business.
She had experience in retail management, he said. She could help organize the warehouse and reduce operating costs.
Curtis had agreed.
He had never imagined that the arrangement might become a way for them to move money without his knowledge.
His phone vibrated.
Elaine was calling.
He answered.
“Hey.””
“Curtis, Isaiah is asking for you.””
“Is everything okay?””
“He's fine. But he wants to show you something.””
“What?””
“He says he remembered where he saw the key.””
Curtis glanced at Margaret.
“Put him on.””
A moment later, Isaiah's voice came through.
“Dad?””
“Hey, buddy.””
“I remembered something about the second office.””
“Tell me.””
“Renée used to leave the key inside a blue envelope.””
Curtis frowned.
“Where?””
“In her desk drawer. Under the papers.””
“Are you sure?””
“Yes. I saw her put it there last month.””
Curtis glanced toward the hallway.
“Okay. Thank you. Don't go looking for it, all right?””
“Okay.””
“And Isaiah?””
“Yeah?””
“You're doing great.””
The boy was quiet for a second.
Then he said, “I wish I had told you earlier.””
Curtis closed his eyes.
“You told me when you could. That's enough.””
He ended the call.
Margaret looked at him.
“There's another thing we should discuss.””
“What?””
“Your wife's access to the company systems.””
Curtis nodded.
“I'll revoke it.””
“Not yet,” Margaret said.
“We need to preserve the access records first. And I recommend you avoid changing anything until Peter completes the forensic capture.””
Curtis disliked the idea of leaving Renée's access active.
But he understood.
“Fine.””
Peter turned his laptop toward them.
“I found something else.””
He had opened the employee authorization database.
A list of names appeared.
Most belonged to legitimate warehouse employees.
One entry stood out.
*Isaiah Morgan — Temporary Operations Assistant.*
The date of registration was four months earlier.
Curtis stared.
“Four months?””
Peter nodded.
“His profile has been active since June.””
“He wasn't working here in June.””
Peter opened the profile.
There was an attached document.
A parental consent form.
Curtis looked at the signature.
It carried his name.
He leaned closer.
The signature was almost perfect.
Almost.
But the date was from a week when Curtis had been in California.
He hadn't been home.
Margaret read the document.
“It's a consent form authorizing warehouse duties, inventory handling, and compensation administration.””
Curtis felt sick.
“Isaiah never received this money.””
Peter opened the payment history.
“There's a beneficiary account attached.””
Curtis recognized the last four digits.
They belonged to an account under Renée's name.
Margaret looked at him.
“Curtis, this is no longer just a question of unauthorized business expenses.””
Curtis stared at the screen.
“No.””
He thought about the boxes.
The blistered hands.
The messages telling his son not to speak.
Then Peter opened another file.
It was an internal company memo.
The title read:
*FAMILY EMPLOYMENT ARRANGEMENT — CONFIDENTIAL.*
The memo contained a paragraph stating that Curtis had personally requested Isaiah's employment as part of a family financial restructuring plan.
Curtis had never requested anything of the kind.
At the bottom was a second signature.
Daniel Reeves.
And beneath it, a handwritten note:
Keep this ready in case Curtis questions the transfer.
Curtis slowly pushed his chair away from the desk.
“They were preparing for me to find out.””
Margaret nodded.
“Possibly.””
Curtis looked toward the locked records room.
“Then I want to know what else they prepared.””
Just then, Robert appeared in the doorway.
He was holding a small brown envelope.
“Curtis?””
“What is it?””
Robert looked nervous.
“I found this behind the loading office cabinet. It has your name on it.””
Curtis took the envelope.
There was no return address.
Inside was a folded sheet of paper and a small metal key.
He unfolded the note.
Five handwritten words stared back at him.
*Don't trust Daniel. Check Tuesday's recording.*
Curtis looked at the key.
Then he looked at Margaret.
“What's Tuesday's recording?””
Peter turned his laptop around.
“There's a camera archive from Tuesday that wasn't included in the regular system.””
Curtis stared.
“Why wasn't it included?””
Peter clicked the file.
A progress bar appeared.
Then a warning flashed.
*ARCHIVE RESTRICTED — OWNER ACCESS REQUIRED.*
May you like
Curtis took the metal key from the envelope.
And suddenly, he understood why someone had wanted that second office locked.
