Chapter 5 - The Man Who Left First
Daniel Price was waiting in the conference room when I returned to Arden.
He looked nothing like the man from the night before.
No wineglass.
No relaxed smile.
His suit was wrinkled, and dark circles sat beneath his eyes.
Two attorneys sat beside him.
I took my seat.
Nathan remained standing.
Daniel looked at me.
“Mrs. Carter.”
“Did you steal money from my company?”
One of his lawyers immediately raised a hand.
“My client—”
Daniel stopped him.
“No.”
I held his gaze.
“Then explain why Redvale transferred ninety-eight thousand dollars into your account.”
Daniel swallowed.
“Because Marcus used me.”
The lawyer sighed.
I said, “That sentence needs details.”
Daniel looked at Nathan.
“Am I being recorded?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
He leaned forward.
“About eighteen months ago, Marcus asked me to help him evaluate outside vendors.”
“For what?”
“He said Arden was wasting money.”
Nathan asked, “Were you authorized?”
“Informally. Marcus was my director.”
“And Redvale?”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“He introduced it as a boutique consulting firm.”
“Did you meet anyone from the company?”
“No.”
“Did that concern you?”
“At first.”
“At first?”
“He showed me reports.”
“What reports?”
“Market analysis. Logistics forecasts. Competitor summaries.”
Nathan frowned.
“Where are they?”
“Marcus had them.”
“So you approved invoices for a company whose representatives you never met?”
Daniel looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
I felt no sympathy.
“Continue.”
“Three months later, Marcus told me Redvale wanted to hire me privately for weekend consulting.”
My eyebrows rose.
“While you were approving their invoices?”
“I know how it sounds.”
“It sounds illegal.”
His lawyer shifted.
Daniel continued quickly.
“I didn’t understand where the money was coming from.”
“You accepted ninety-eight thousand dollars and never wondered?”
“I wondered.”
“Then why didn’t you stop?”
He looked directly at me.
“Because Marcus had something on me.”
Silence.
Nathan sat down.
“What?”
Daniel stared at the table.
“My wife was sick.”
I waited.
“Cancer. She needed treatment that insurance initially refused to cover. I borrowed against everything.”
His voice broke.
“Marcus found out.”
That explained desperation.
Not innocence.
“He offered money?”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“He found out I had used my company card for personal expenses.”
“How much?”
“Eight thousand dollars.”
I stared.
“You stole company money.”
“Yes.”
His lawyer touched his arm.
Daniel ignored him.
“I paid it back within six weeks.”
“Without reporting it?”
“Yes.”
“And Marcus discovered it.”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“He said he could end my career or protect me.”
My stomach turned.
“And protection had a price.”
Daniel nodded.
“He made me approve vendors.”
Nathan asked, “Including Redvale?”
“Yes.”
“And the payments into your account?”
“He told me they were consulting fees. Later, I realized what he was doing.”
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
“What did you do?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Nothing.”
I leaned back.
At least he did not lie.
“My wife was getting better. I had two kids in college. I was terrified.”
“And Emily?”
His face changed.
That caught my attention.
“What about my daughter?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Marcus talked about her at work.”
“How?”
“Badly.”
I felt heat rise inside me.
“He called her weak. Said pregnancy made her useless.”
My hands curled.
Daniel looked ashamed.
“Sometimes he showed us messages she sent.”
“What kind of messages?”
“Asking when he’d be home. Asking him to pick up groceries. Normal things.”
“And?”
“He mocked her.”
I looked away for one second.
That was all I allowed myself.
Daniel continued.
“Last night was worse.”
“The dinner?”
He nodded.
“Emily cooked most of it.”
“She cooked?”
“Yes.”
My stomach dropped.
“She told me Marcus’s coworkers were coming over and she needed to make a good impression.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“She could barely stand by dessert.”
“Did you offer to help?”
“I offered to carry plates.”
“And Marcus?”
“He told me not to.”
My voice came out cold.
“Why?”
Daniel quoted him.
“Because if you do it once, they expect it forever.”
I closed my eyes.
I pictured my pregnant daughter leaning over that sink.
The mountain of dishes.
The men drinking wine behind her.
And Daniel sitting among them.
When I opened my eyes, he looked sick.
“I should have left earlier.”
“Yes.”
“I should have said something.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Your apology belongs to Emily.”
He nodded.
Then he reached into his briefcase.
His lawyer looked alarmed.
“Daniel—”
“I’m done protecting him.”
He placed a small external drive on the table.
Nathan stared at it.
“What’s that?”
“Copies.”
“Of?”
“Emails. Vendor approvals. Messages. Spreadsheets.”
“How did you get them?”
“I started saving things when I realized Marcus was setting people up.”
Nathan did not touch the drive.
“Setting up whom?”
“Me.”
Daniel looked at me.
“And Emily.”
My heartbeat changed.
“What did you see?”
“He kept a folder on the department server for Redvale.”
“We know.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You found the official folder.”
“There’s another one.”
Nathan leaned forward.
“What’s in it?”
“Scanned signatures. Bank documents. Copies of Emily’s identification.”
My chair scraped against the floor as I stood.
“Her identification?”
“Driver’s license. Social Security information. Passport.”
I stared at him.
“How did Marcus get her passport?”
Daniel looked confused.
“I assumed she gave it to him.”
Emily had called me six months earlier because she could not find her passport.
Marcus had told her she was careless.
I remembered the conversation perfectly.
She had cried from frustration.
He had stood behind her telling her she lost everything.
My skin crawled.
“Where is that folder?”
“Hidden under archived project files.”
Nathan stood.
“Show us.”
IT isolated the machine and opened the directory thirty minutes later.
Daniel was right.
Dozens of files appeared.
Emily’s identification.
Signature samples.
Loan documents.
Bank forms.
Then Nathan clicked a spreadsheet.
Rows of transactions filled the screen.
Redvale payments.
Dates.
Amounts.
Recipients.
Near the bottom was a section titled:
**EXIT PLAN**
I leaned closer.
“What is that?”
Daniel whispered, “I’ve never seen that.”
Nathan opened it.
Three lines appeared.
Transfer remaining funds.
Close Redvale.
Assign liability to ECR.
ECR.
Emily Carter Reed.
I felt physically sick.
Marcus had planned it.
He had not simply used her name because it was convenient.
He had planned to leave her holding the blame.
Nathan scrolled lower.
There was one final note.
**Execute before child arrives.**
Nobody spoke.
I stared at those words.
Before child arrives.
Marcus had a deadline.
My grandson.
Nathan immediately called the investigators.
Daniel sat frozen.
“I didn’t know.”
I turned toward him.
“You knew enough.”
His face fell.
I was too angry to comfort him.
My phone rang.
Emily.
I answered instantly.
“Are you okay?”
“Mom?”
Something in her voice terrified me.
“What happened?”
“I’m at your house with Aunt Claire.”
“Yes?”
“There’s a woman here.”
“What woman?”
“She says her name is Rebecca Shaw.”
I looked at Nathan.
“Do you know that name?”
He shook his head.
Emily continued.
“She says she worked for Marcus.”
“In his department?”
“No.”
Emily’s next words made the entire room disappear around me.
“She says she’s his lawyer.”
I frowned.
“Then don’t speak to her.”
“No, Mom.”
Emily’s voice dropped.
“She isn’t here to protect Marcus.”
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“Why is she there?”
Emily took a breath.
“Because she says Marcus asked her six months ago how to divorce me without giving me access to any of his money.”
My heart stopped.
May you like
Then Emily added the part that made Nathan look up sharply.
“She also says he asked what would happen if his wife was arrested before the baby was born.”
