Chapter 4
By two in the morning, I knew seven properties were affected.
Seven.
More than twenty million dollars in real estate.
I sat in my office staring at the screen.
Marcus paced behind me.
"This isn't something Vanessa built by herself."
"I know."
"Trevor had access."
"I know."
"But there has to be more."
I looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"Property transfers require verification."
I froze.
Marcus continued.
"Bank instructions."
"Management approvals."
"Corporate records."
"Someone inside your company may have helped."
I didn't want to hear that.
My company had forty-three employees.
Most had been with me for years.
Some had watched me build everything from a borrowed office with two folding desks.
I trusted them.
Then again, I had trusted Vanessa.
And Trevor.
Trust suddenly felt dangerous.
At eight the next morning, I called an emergency meeting.
Only five executives attended.
Marcus.
My finance director, Evelyn.
Operations director, Jordan.
My assistant, Kiara.
And my chief administrative officer, Malcolm Price.
I didn't tell them everything.
Only that fraudulent property documents had surfaced.
Malcolm reacted first.
"How serious?"
"Serious enough that nobody accesses ownership records without my approval."
His eyebrows lifted.
"That could stop normal operations."
"Then operations stop."
Evelyn nodded.
"Agreed."
Malcolm didn't.
"We have payments due."
"I don't care."
He stared at me.
That bothered me.
Not because he disagreed.
Because he seemed worried.
I watched him carefully.
"Malcolm?"
"Yes?"
"Did you approve any external management changes this month?"
His answer came too quickly.
"No."
Jordan looked toward him.
I noticed.
"What?"
Jordan hesitated.
"Nothing."
"Say it."
He looked at Malcolm.
"I saw paperwork on your desk Thursday."
Malcolm laughed.
"I handle paperwork every day."
"With VCR Holdings."
Silence.
My pulse changed.
Malcolm leaned back.
"That was a proposal."
"From who?"
"Trevor."
I stood.
"You never told me."
"It wasn't finalized."
"Seven properties are scheduled to transfer management Monday."
His face changed.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"That's impossible."
"Is it?"
He shook his head.
"I never approved anything."
"Did you sign anything?"
"Only acknowledgment forms."
My stomach dropped.
"Show me."
He hesitated.
"Malcolm."
He opened his laptop.
Within minutes, we found the documents.
Acknowledgment of review.
Authorization to proceed.
He claimed Trevor told him they were preliminary.
But the language was clear.
Malcolm's signature was part of the approval chain.
"Why didn't you read them?"
He looked embarrassed.
"I trusted Trevor."
That word again.
Trusted.
Detective Carter arrived before noon with two financial investigators.
They interviewed everyone separately.
Trevor was still missing.
His office claimed he hadn't come in.
His phone was off.
His wife said he left the previous evening for a business meeting and never returned.
That sounded dramatic.
It also sounded convenient.
Around one, Kiara entered my office.
She closed the door.
"Can I show you something?"
Her face was nervous.
"Of course."
She placed her phone on my desk.
A photograph showed Vanessa sitting at a restaurant with Malcolm.
I stared at it.
"When was this?"
"Three weeks ago."
My chest tightened.
"Why do you have this?"
"I was there with my sister."
"Did Malcolm tell you he was meeting her?"
"No."
I immediately called Detective Carter.
Malcolm was brought back into the conference room.
This time, his story changed.
Yes, he had met Vanessa.
But only because she wanted to discuss the charity event.
Then investigators showed him bank records.
A company connected to Vanessa had transferred $30,000 to an account controlled by his brother.
Malcolm stopped talking.
I felt sick.
"Why?"
I asked.
Detective Carter tried to stop me.
I didn't care.
I stood across from Malcolm.
"You've worked for me eight years."
He wouldn't look at me.
"Why?"
His voice was barely audible.
"I needed money."
"For what?"
"My brother's restaurant."
"So you sold access to my company?"
"No."
"What would you call it?"
He finally looked up.
"I didn't know they were trying to steal your properties."
"Then what did you think thirty thousand dollars bought?"
His face crumpled.
"Information."
"What information?"
"Schedules."
"Passwords?"
"No."
"Signatures?"
"No."
"Then what?"
He closed his eyes.
"Internal approval procedures."
I backed away.
That was enough.
Vanessa and Trevor had used Malcolm to map the system.
Then they convinced him to sign documents.
Maybe he hadn't understood the full plan.
But he had opened the door.
Detective Carter formally warned him not to leave the city.
He was suspended immediately.
I walked back into my office.
Marcus followed.
"I feel stupid."
He closed the door.
"You're not."
"I hired him."
"You hired hundreds of good decisions too."
"I trusted him."
"That's not stupidity."
I looked at him.
"It keeps becoming expensive."
He didn't answer.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then I answered.
"Nia?"
Trevor.
I stood.
"Where are you?"
His breathing was heavy.
"I can't tell you."
Marcus immediately began recording.
"Why?"
"Because Vanessa knows."
My skin chilled.
"Knows what?"
"I kept copies."
"Copies of what?"
"Everything."
I gripped the phone.
"Trevor, did you forge my signature?"
Silence.
"Answer me."
"Yes."
The word hit hard.
"But you need to understand."
"No."
"You need to understand why."
"Then explain."
He breathed shakily.
"Vanessa wasn't the one who started this."
I looked at Marcus.
"Who did?"
Trevor went silent again.
Then he whispered a name.
A name I hadn't expected.
"Your uncle."
I stopped breathing.
"What?"
"Leon."
My father's older brother.
The man who told everyone he was proud of me.
The man who had attended my office opening.
The man who had called this mansion proof that our family had finally made it.
Trevor continued.
"Leon planned the entire thing."
My hand started shaking.
"Why?"
Before he could answer, I heard a loud noise on his end.
May you like
Trevor gasped.
Then the call disconnected.
