Chapter 4
I called Tasha before I even got out of bed.
She answered on the third ring.
“Malik?”
“Where are you?”
“At school.”
“Are you alone?”
She laughed nervously.
“Why?”
“Just answer me.”
“No. I'm with two classmates.”
I closed my eyes.
“Stay with them.”
Her voice changed.
“Malik, what's wrong?”
I looked at the photograph on my phone.
Someone had followed her.
Someone knew where she studied.
And whoever it was wanted me to understand that my family could become part of this.
“I received a threatening message.”
Silence.
Then Tasha whispered, “About me?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
I hesitated.
“I'll explain when you're somewhere safe.”
She immediately understood that this wasn't a joke.
“I'll go to campus security.”
“Good. Call me when you're there.”
As soon as we hung up, I contacted the police.
I sent them the messages, the photographs, and the telephone numbers involved.
Then I called Rebecca.
She answered immediately.
“Malik, we've been trying to reach you.”
“I was sleeping.”
“Of course. I'm sorry. Arthur wanted to make sure you got home safely.”
“Someone sent me threats.”
Her voice became sharp.
“What kind of threats?”
I explained.
She went silent.
Then she said, “Come to the office only if the police advise it's safe. We'll arrange a secure meeting with the investigators.”
I appreciated that she didn't try to minimize what had happened.
An hour later, a detective named Marcus Bennett arrived at my apartment.
He reviewed the messages and asked whether I had received threats before.
“No.”
“Any recent disputes outside work?”
“No.”
He studied the photographs.
“These were taken from public locations, but the timing suggests someone deliberately followed both you and your sister.”
I nodded.
“That's what I thought.”
“Do you have any idea who might be responsible?”
I considered the question.
Nia was arrogant.
She was cruel.
But I had no evidence that she was involved in the threats.
“I don't know.”
Detective Bennett nodded.
“That's the right answer if you're not sure. We don't want assumptions getting in the way of evidence.”
He advised me to preserve all messages, avoid responding, and report any further contact.
The company also arranged additional security at my request.
Tasha was furious when I told her everything.
“Somebody thinks threatening me will make you stop?”
“I don't know what they're trying to accomplish.”
She crossed her arms.
“Then don't give them what they want.”
I looked at her.
“This isn't a game, Tasha.”
“I know.”
Her voice softened.
“But you didn't spend your whole life protecting me so I could tell you to surrender whenever someone gets dangerous.”
I pulled her into a hug.
“I just want you safe.”
“I know.”
That afternoon, Arthur asked to meet with me through a secure video call.
His face looked older than it had the previous morning.
“Nia has been placed on administrative leave.”
I stared at him.
“Because of the incident?”
“Because she attempted to terminate you without following procedure, interfered with an ongoing emergency review, and failed to disclose relevant information about her presence in the office.”
I sat forward.
“She was there?”
Arthur nodded.
“Access records confirm she entered the executive floor at 11:56 p.m.”
I remembered Daniel's account.
“Did she explain why?”
“She claims she had a private meeting.”
“With whom?”
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“She refused to identify the visitor.”
I felt my stomach drop.
“Then she may know who accessed the system.”
“Possibly.”
Arthur rubbed his forehead.
“The audit committee is conducting interviews. I have recused myself from decisions involving her employment.”
That surprised me.
“You're allowing the committee to handle it?”
“She is my daughter. That makes independent oversight essential.”
For the first time since the termination incident, I felt a small amount of trust return.
Arthur looked directly at the camera.
“Malik, I also owe you an apology.”
I didn't answer.
“I built this company believing hard work would be recognized. I allowed a culture to develop where certain people felt protected from accountability because of their last names.”
His voice cracked slightly.
“My father would be ashamed.”
I studied him.
“Arthur, your father believed employees deserved respect.”
“I know.”
“Then make sure that belief becomes company policy, not just something people say at anniversary dinners.”
He nodded.
“I intend to.”
After the call, Rebecca sent me documents outlining the independent investigation.
The audit committee had retained an outside cybersecurity firm.
They were preserving system logs, badge records, and relevant communications.
They also requested my technical assistance once I was medically fit to return.
I agreed.
But I made one condition clear.
I wanted a written guarantee that employees who reported concerns would be protected from retaliation.
Rebecca confirmed the board was preparing one.
Two days later, I returned to the office.
Not to resume my normal job.
To work with the investigators.
The atmosphere had changed.
Nia's glass office was empty.
Her nameplate had been removed.
Employees watched me walk through the lobby with expressions ranging from curiosity to relief.
Daniel met me near the elevators.
“Welcome back.”
“Thanks.”
He grinned.
“I heard you own part of the place.”
I sighed.
“Please don't start.”
He laughed.
Then his smile faded.
“There's something I need to show you.”
He led me into the secured investigation room.
On the screen was a recording from the executive floor.
The footage was grainy but clear enough to identify people.
At 11:56 p.m., Nia stepped out of the elevator.
She was wearing the same black suit she had worn the following morning.
She looked over her shoulder.
Then she walked toward a conference room.
A man followed her.
Tall.
Expensive coat.
Dark briefcase.
I didn't recognize him.
Daniel paused the video.
“That's the visitor.”
“Do we have his name?”
“The badge records identify him as Victor Lang.”
My stomach tightened.
I knew that name.
Victor Lang was Vanguard Digital Holdings' senior vice president for corporate acquisitions.
He was one of the executives negotiating Project Meridian.
“What was he doing here at midnight?”
Daniel shook his head.
“That's what everyone wants to know.”
We continued watching.
Victor and Nia entered the conference room.
Forty minutes later, Victor left.
Nia remained inside.
At 12:47 a.m., she walked toward a computer workstation.
Then the camera feed briefly disappeared.
When it returned, she was gone.
Daniel looked at me.
“The blackout lasted ninety-three seconds.”
I stared at the screen.
“That's enough time to connect a device.”
“Or remove one.”
I thought about the unauthorized executive account.
The access to confidential merger files.
The attempted customer data export.
For the first time, the pieces began to form a pattern.
But we still needed proof.
I asked the investigators to compare the workstation logs with the footage.
They discovered a removable storage device had been connected during the camera interruption.
The device's identifier had been recorded.
And shortly afterward, the executive account had accessed Project Meridian.
The lead investigator, a woman named Simone Carter, reviewed the evidence carefully.
“This doesn't establish who used the device,” she said. “But it gives us a direction.”
Then she opened another report.
“We also found a confidential payment made through a consulting company associated with Victor Lang.”
I looked at her.
“To whom?”
Simone hesitated.
Then she turned the screen toward me.
The recipient was a private account.
The account holder's name was Nia Whitmore.
The amount was $450,000.
May you like
And the payment description contained two words.
STRATEGIC COOPERATION.
