Chapter 4 - THE FIRST REAL BETRAYALCaroline gripped her phone.
"Who?"
The security officer hesitated.
"Miss Reed, I would rather explain this directly to Mr. Walker and the company's attorney. The footage is incomplete, and I don't want to identify the wrong person."
Caroline closed her eyes.
"Then please call them immediately."
"I already have."
She ended the call and looked at Mama Grace.
"Something is happening at the office."
Mama Grace studied her face.
"Is it serious?"
"I think so."
Within forty minutes, Vincent, Caroline, Priya, Naomi Ellis, and the security manager were gathered in Vincent's home office.
The security manager, a former police detective named Frank Donovan, connected his laptop to the large screen.
"This is footage from the corridor outside Caroline's office yesterday afternoon."
The video began.
Employees passed through the hallway.
A maintenance worker pushed a cart.
Then, at 1:42 p.m., a woman entered Caroline's office.
Caroline leaned forward.
"That's Tessa Morgan."
Tessa worked in the accounts department.
She was a quiet woman in her late thirties who had helped Caroline understand several financial reports.
Vincent frowned.
"Why was she in Caroline's office?"
Frank paused the recording.
"That's what we need to determine."
The video continued.
Tessa emerged four minutes later carrying a blue folder.
"Is my notebook inside that?" Caroline asked.
"We can't tell."
Frank opened a second recording.
"This camera covers the corridor outside Mr. Cole's office."
Tessa appeared again.
She knocked.
The door opened.
She entered.
Five minutes later, she left without the folder.
Caroline stared at the screen.
"She took something into Martin's office."
"Yes," Frank answered. "But we cannot establish what the folder contained."
Vincent turned to Naomi.
"What now?"
"We interview Tessa, preserve her communications under the proper procedures, and establish a chain of custody for any evidence."
Caroline nodded.
"Please don't accuse her before she has a chance to explain."
Naomi looked at her.
"We won't."
The next morning, Tessa was invited to a confidential meeting.
She arrived looking nervous.
Caroline sat beside Priya.
Naomi asked the questions.
"Tessa, were you inside Caroline Reed's office yesterday afternoon?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Martin asked me to collect the updated vendor reconciliation file."
"Did Caroline authorize that?"
"No. But I assumed Martin had authority."
"Did you take anything else?"
Tessa shook her head.
"No."
"Was there a black notebook on Caroline's desk?"
Tessa stared at the table.
For several seconds, she did not answer.
Then she whispered, "Yes."
Caroline felt her stomach tighten.
"Did you take it?"
Tessa's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
Naomi leaned forward.
"What happened?"
Tessa covered her mouth.
"Martin said Caroline was copying confidential financial information. He told me to bring him her notebook so he could check whether company records were being mishandled."
Caroline stared at her.
"Why didn't you ask me?"
Tessa looked ashamed.
"Because he's my supervisor's supervisor. He has worked here for twenty-seven years. I didn't think I could question him."
Vincent's expression hardened.
"Where is the notebook now?"
"I left it on his desk."
"Did you send Caroline any messages?"
Tessa shook her head.
"No. I swear."
Naomi continued questioning her.
Tessa gave permission for investigators to examine relevant work communications and described Martin's instructions in detail.
By the end of the interview, Caroline believed one thing.
Tessa had made a serious mistake.
But fear had played a large part in it.
Outside the conference room, Tessa approached Caroline.
"I'm sorry."
Caroline looked at her.
"You should have asked me."
"I know."
"That notebook contained my work."
"I know."
Tears rolled down Tessa's cheeks.
"I have a daughter, Caroline. She's seven. I can't afford to lose my job."
Caroline's expression softened.
"I understand being afraid of losing everything."
Tessa wiped her face.
"But fear doesn't make what you did right."
"No."
Caroline paused.
"Tell the truth from now on. That's the only way to make this better."
Tessa nodded.
As she walked away, Vincent approached.
"You handled that well."
Caroline shook her head.
"I wish she'd come to me."
"So do I."
"Martin used her fear."
Vincent looked toward the closed conference room.
"And I need to find out whether he's done it to anyone else."
Later that morning, Priya and Caroline traveled to the Eastbrook Commons construction site.
Luis Ortega met them near the temporary offices.
The construction site stretched across several acres.
Concrete foundations, steel supports, equipment, and partially completed buildings filled the landscape.
For Caroline, it was a reminder that the numbers in her reports represented real things.
Real materials.
Real wages.
Real families waiting for homes.
Luis led them into a small office and opened the gate access records.
"These show every truck entering and leaving the compound."
Caroline examined the dates.
September 13.
No entries.
She looked at Priya.
"Nothing."
Priya nodded.
"Not one truck."
Luis opened another report.
"Now look at Monday."
Several trucks had entered.
Caroline compared the records with the invoices.
"Could Sunday's deliveries have been recorded on Monday?"
Luis shook his head.
"Those were different orders. The quantities don't match."
Priya made notes.
Then Caroline noticed something else.
One invoice showed thirty-two pallets of structural steel.
But the warehouse inventory recorded only twelve.
"Where are the other twenty pallets?"
Luis frowned.
"I don't know."
"Could they have been moved to another site?"
"Not without a transfer record."
They spent the next three hours reviewing materials and delivery documents.
By the end, the evidence suggested that large quantities of materials had been billed but never received.
Priya closed her laptop.
"We need the independent auditors here immediately."
Luis nodded.
"There's something else."
Caroline looked at him.
"What?"
Luis lowered his voice.
"Two months ago, I questioned a delivery report. Martin called me personally."
"What did he say?"
"He told me to focus on construction and leave accounting to the office."
"Did you tell anyone?"
"I told my regional manager."
"What happened?"
Luis looked embarrassed.
"Nothing."
Caroline felt a familiar anger rising.
Not because anyone had questioned her.
Because honest employees had apparently been taught that speaking up was dangerous.
"We're going to document what you've told us," Priya said.
Luis nodded.
"Good."
Before they left, he added something quietly.
"Caroline, please be careful."
She stopped.
"Why?"
Luis glanced toward the construction gate.
"Because I don't think this is just about building materials."
"What do you mean?"
"I've seen trucks leaving here late at night. They weren't carrying supplies."
"What were they carrying?"
"Old files. Storage boxes. Equipment from the abandoned Cedar Row property."
Caroline exchanged a look with Priya.
"Who authorized that?"
Luis shook his head.
"The order came directly from Martin."
Back at headquarters, Vincent was waiting with Naomi.
Caroline handed them the latest report.
"We have more discrepancies."
Vincent read silently.
Then Naomi placed another document on the table.
"The forensic accountants have traced some preliminary payments."
Caroline looked at her.
"Where did the money go?"
Naomi hesitated.
"More than four million dollars was transferred through a series of companies linked to Cedar Row Holdings."
Vincent became very still.
"Cedar Row Holdings?"
"Yes."
"Who owns it?"
"We're still identifying the beneficial owners."
Then Naomi slid a second document across the table.
"This is a land acquisition agreement from three years ago."
Vincent took it.
His face changed instantly.
Caroline noticed the signature at the bottom.
Vincent Walker.
She looked at him.
"Vincent?"
He did not answer.
Naomi spoke quietly.
"According to this agreement, you personally authorized the transaction that transferred the Cedar Row property."
Caroline's heart began pounding.
Vincent slowly looked up.
May you like
And then he said the words nobody in the room expected.
"I remember signing something that day. But this is not the agreement I signed."
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