Chapter 3
"Millions?"
The word came out as barely a whisper.
Maya nodded.
"She found something in the executive offices."
I looked at Daniel.
He was already taking notes.
"What did she find?"
Maya glanced toward the elevators.
"Financial papers. She didn't understand all of them, but she knew something was wrong."
I pulled a chair from the reception area.
"Sit down, Maya."
She looked surprised.
"Ma'am?"
"Please."
She sat carefully.
I took the chair beside her.
For the first time that morning, the people around us stopped pretending not to listen.
"Tell me everything you remember."
Maya twisted her fingers together.
"Evelyn cleaned the executive floor at night. She was always the last one to leave."
I nodded.
"Go on."
"One evening, Richard left his office unlocked. There were papers all over the conference table."
"Financial papers?"
"Invoices. Account information. Documents with different company names."
She swallowed.
"Evelyn took pictures because she saw the same payment amount repeated again and again."
Daniel looked up.
"Do you know how much?"
"Almost four million dollars."
My chest tightened.
Four million.
That wasn't a small accounting mistake.
That was enough money to keep an entire department running for years.
"What happened next?" I asked.
"Evelyn told Victoria she needed to speak to someone from the board."
I closed my eyes.
Of all the people Evelyn could have approached, she had chosen the woman who might have been involved.
"Victoria promised to arrange a meeting," Maya continued. "The next morning, they accused Evelyn of stealing."
"Did Evelyn tell anyone else?"
Maya nodded.
"Me."
"Why didn't you contact the board?"
Tears ran down her cheeks.
"I tried."
She opened her handbag and removed an old envelope.
My name was written across the front.
NIA BENNETT.
PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL.
The envelope had been torn open.
"I found this in the trash after Victoria read it."
I stared at it.
"Why did you keep it?"
Maya's voice trembled.
"Because Evelyn told me that if anything happened to her, somebody needed to know the truth."
I accepted the envelope.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The words were uneven.
Some sentences had been crossed out and rewritten.
Dear Ms. Bennett,
I don't know if this will reach you.
I have worked hard for your company for three years, and I have always been proud to work here.
But something is happening that I believe you should know.
I have seen payments approved for companies that do not appear to provide any services.
I have photographs.
I am afraid to tell anyone because people who ask questions seem to lose their jobs.
Please help me.
I am not trying to cause trouble.
I just want to do the right thing.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Carter.
I read the last sentence twice.
I just want to do the right thing.
My eyes burned.
"Where is she now?"
Maya looked down.
"I don't know exactly."
"Do you have a phone number?"
She nodded.
"Her old one."
"Call her."
Maya hesitated.
"She might not answer."
"Then leave a message."
She dialed.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then a tired voice answered.
"Hello?"
Maya began crying immediately.
"Evelyn?"
"Maya?"
"It's me."
A pause.
Then Evelyn's voice changed.
"Is something wrong? Did Victoria fire you too?"
I felt my throat tighten.
Maya looked at me.
I nodded.
She handed me the phone.
"Ms. Carter?"
Silence.
"Who is this?"
"My name is Nia Bennett."
Another pause.
Then the faint sound of something dropping.
"The CEO?"
"Yes."
I heard her breathing.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered a sentence I would never forget.
"I wrote to you."
"I know."
"I begged someone to give you my letter."
"I know, Evelyn."
Her voice cracked.
"Nobody believed me."
I looked around the beautiful lobby.
At the polished floors.
At the employees watching us.
At the company I had built from almost nothing.
"I believe you."
She began to cry.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just the exhausted crying of someone who had spent too long trying to survive.
I waited.
When she could speak again, I asked whether we could meet.
"Why?" she whispered.
"Because I owe you an apology. And because I need your help."
She hesitated.
"I don't want trouble."
"You've already had enough of that."
There was another long silence.
Finally, she gave me an address.
A small apartment on the east side of the city.
I promised to arrive that afternoon.
Then I handed Maya her phone.
"Thank you for keeping that letter."
She wiped her eyes.
"Is Evelyn going to get her job back?"
"That's her decision," I answered. "But we're going to correct what happened to her."
Daniel approached.
"Nia, the finance team is ready."
I stood.
"Good. Freeze discretionary payments to any vendor connected to Richard until they're independently reviewed."
He nodded.
"We also need an outside forensic accounting firm."
"Hire one."
Margaret stepped forward.
"I'll call an emergency board meeting."
"Include the independent directors."
I looked toward the employees.
"And tell everyone that no complaint will ever again be reviewed solely by the person being accused."
Maya stood.
"Ms. Bennett?"
I turned.
"Yes?"
She hesitated.
"There's something else about Evelyn."
"What?"
Maya looked at the envelope in my hand.
"She has a daughter."
I nodded slowly.
"All right."
"Her daughter was supposed to start college this fall."
My stomach sank.
"What happened?"
"Evelyn used her savings on legal fees after Richard reported her to the police."
Maya wiped another tear.
"And when she couldn't find work, they lost their apartment."
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression darkened.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
He answered the call.
Listened.
Then covered the microphone.
"Nia, the accounting team just found another vendor."
I stared at him.
"Another suspicious company?"
He nodded.
"But this one is different."
"How?"
He looked genuinely shaken.
"The payments didn't begin when Richard became executive vice president."
I felt a chill.
"When did they begin?"
Daniel swallowed.
"Five years ago."
I stared at him.
Five years.
Richard had only joined us three years earlier.
May you like
Which meant the scheme had started before he arrived.
And someone else inside my company had been involved all along.
