Chapter 6
I arrived at the office before sunrise.
The parking lot was empty.
The building was quiet.
For a moment, I sat in my car staring at the entrance.
Twelve years earlier, I'd started my company with two thousand dollars in savings and a secondhand laptop.
I worked from my kitchen table.
I answered calls between hospital shifts.
I built presentations at two in the morning.
I remember celebrating our first major contract with grocery-store cupcakes.
Now, twenty-three employees depended on the business.
And one careless decision by my husband had placed everything at risk.
I took a breath.
Then walked inside.
Rachel was waiting in the conference room.
So was David.
I placed my handbag on the table.
"Tell me exactly what the hospital said."
Rachel opened her laptop.
"They received documents from an anonymous sender."
I nodded.
"Which documents?"
"Portions of our contract, internal pricing information, and correspondence that appears to have been altered."
My stomach tightened.
"Altered how?"
Rachel turned the screen toward me.
One email appeared to suggest I'd authorized sharing confidential information with outside consultants.
I stared at it.
"I never wrote that."
David nodded.
"We've requested the original message data so the document can be examined."
I swallowed.
"Will the hospital terminate us?"
Rachel shook her head.
"Not yet."
I exhaled.
"They've paused renewal discussions and requested a formal explanation."
I sat down.
For several moments, I couldn't speak.
Then I looked at Rachel.
"Can we prove the email isn't genuine?"
She nodded.
"We have strong records showing inconsistencies, but the forensic review is ongoing."
I took a breath.
"Then let's work."
For the next ten hours, we reviewed documents.
We identified authorized communications.
Compiled security records.
And prepared an explanation for the hospital network.
I didn't hide the problem.
I didn't pretend nothing had happened.
I acknowledged that confidential business documents appeared to have been accessed improperly.
I explained the safeguards we'd implemented.
And I promised full cooperation with any required review.
When we finished, Rachel looked exhausted.
"Nia, you need to go home."
I shook my head.
"Not yet."
She sat beside me.
"Listen."
I looked at her.
"You built this company because you care about people."
I felt tears rise.
"And you hired good people."
I nodded.
"Let us help you."
For years, I'd carried the company on my shoulders.
I'd believed being a leader meant solving every problem myself.
But Rachel was right.
I had a team.
People who cared.
People who weren't going to abandon me because my marriage had collapsed.
I wiped my eyes.
"Thank you."
She smiled.
"Now go sleep."
That night, Tasha stayed with me.
She cooked dinner.
Made tea.
And refused to let me open my laptop after nine.
We sat on the couch watching an old comedy.
For the first time in weeks, I laughed.
Then my phone rang.
It was a number I didn't recognize.
I hesitated.
Tasha looked at me.
"Don't answer if you don't want to."
I nodded.
But something made me pick up.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice spoke softly.
"Is this Nia Bennett?"
"Yes."
"My name is Camille Price."
My stomach tightened.
Price.
Gregory Price.
The chief executive of Sterling Health Solutions.
"How can I help you?"
She hesitated.
"I'm Gregory's sister."
I sat up.
"What do you want?"
Her voice trembled.
"I need to tell you something about Vanessa."
I looked toward Tasha.
She immediately muted the television.
I took a breath.
"Go ahead."
Camille swallowed.
"Vanessa wasn't working alone."
My heart pounded.
"Who was helping her?"
"Gregory."
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
But Camille continued.
"And someone inside your company."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
She hesitated.
"I don't know who."
I gripped the phone.
"Then how do you know?"
"Because I overheard a conversation."
My pulse quickened.
"When?"
"Two months ago."
I stared at the wall.
Camille continued.
"Gregory said the information would be more useful if it came from someone with access to your internal systems."
I felt sick.
Someone inside my company.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who had helped build the business.
"Camille, why are you telling me this?"
Her voice broke.
"Because Gregory has hurt too many people."
I waited.
She took a shaky breath.
"And because Vanessa is my cousin."
I froze.
"What?"
Camille continued.
"Her mother and mine are sisters."
My stomach tightened.
Vanessa wasn't simply a woman who happened to know Gregory.
She was family.
I felt the pieces shifting.
The consulting company.
The payments.
The hospital contract.
The anonymous documents.
This might have been planned long before Vanessa entered my living room.
I asked Camille whether she would speak with investigators.
She hesitated.
Then agreed.
I gave her David's contact information.
After the call, I sat silently.
Tasha looked at me.
"What happened?"
I told her.
Her expression darkened.
"Nia, you need to be careful."
I nodded.
The next morning, I informed David.
We arranged a discreet review of internal access records.
I hated the idea that someone on my team might be involved.
But I couldn't ignore the information.
Forensic specialists examined access logs.
Rachel reviewed vendor approvals.
We looked for unusual downloads, permission changes, and connections to outside accounts.
Two days later, we found something.
A senior operations coordinator named Kevin Brooks had accessed several confidential folders outside normal working hours.
I stared at the report.
Kevin had worked with me for five years.
He had attended company celebrations.
He'd helped train new employees.
I'd sent flowers when his mother died.
I felt sick.
"Could there be a legitimate reason?" I asked.
Rachel nodded.
"Possibly. We need to verify."
We contacted the forensic team and our attorneys.
Additional records showed Kevin had downloaded files shortly before the anonymous leak.
There were also unexplained payments into an account associated with him.
The evidence was concerning.
But we didn't confront him recklessly.
We followed the appropriate procedures.
Access was restricted while the investigation continued.
Kevin was given an opportunity to respond with representation.
At first, he denied wrongdoing.
Then investigators uncovered communications connecting him to an intermediary associated with Sterling.
My heart broke.
I couldn't believe someone I'd trusted would do this.
Then David called with another update.
"Camille has provided messages."
I sat up.
"What messages?"
"Communications involving Gregory and Vanessa."
My pulse quickened.
"Do they mention my company?"
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
David continued.
"There's evidence suggesting they intended to obtain your confidential pricing information before the hospital contract renewal."
I felt a wave of anger.
"How long had they been planning it?"
He paused.
"At least six months."
I stared at the wall.
Six months.
Vanessa had been involved with Marcus for approximately the same period.
And Andre for even longer.
My stomach turned.
Was the affair part of the plan?
Had Vanessa deliberately targeted Marcus because she knew he had access to my company?
I asked David.
He answered carefully.
"We can't establish her original motive yet. But the financial and communication records are significant."
I nodded.
Then he said something unexpected.
"There's another message."
My heart tightened.
"What?"
"Vanessa told Gregory that Marcus would be easy to manipulate because he desperately wanted a child."
I stopped breathing.
I looked toward the framed wedding photograph still sitting on my desk.
My husband had wanted to become a father so badly.
He'd hidden the truth about his infertility.
He'd blamed me for our struggles.
And someone had apparently used that vulnerability to gain access to my life.
I stared at the photograph.
Then slowly turned it facedown.
Because I finally understood something painful.
Marcus hadn't only betrayed me.
May you like
He'd also allowed his shame and desperation to make him useful to people who wanted to destroy me.
And I was done letting their choices define my future.
