Chapter 8: The Name on the Flash Drive
Marcus placed the flash drive on the desk.
For several seconds, he simply stared at it.
His father had been dead for four years. The company had continued to grow, the estate had been maintained, and the family had gradually learned to live with the empty chair at holiday dinners.
Marcus had believed that the worst thing his father had left behind was grief.
Now, a small piece of plastic sat between his hands, carrying the possibility that his entire understanding of those final months had been wrong.
“Can we open it?”” he asked.
Harold nodded.
“There is a computer in the adjoining office.””
Marcus looked at Loretta.
“Did Dad ever mention Daniel to you?””
His mother hesitated.
“Your father trusted him. They had worked together since before you were born.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
Loretta lowered her eyes.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Your father mentioned him.””
“What did he say?””
“He said some financial records weren't matching. He thought Daniel might have been approving payments without the proper authorization.””
Marcus gripped the desk.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because your father asked me not to make accusations until he had proof.””
“And did he find proof?””
Loretta glanced at the flash drive.
“I believe he did.””
Marcus looked at the photograph of his father.
For years, Daniel Whitmore had been a familiar presence in the family's life. He had attended Marcus's graduation, offered advice when the company nearly lost its largest client, and stood beside Loretta at the funeral.
Marcus remembered Daniel holding his shoulder afterward.
Your father would be proud of you, he had said.
Now the memory felt like a cruel imitation of loyalty.
They moved into the adjoining office, where Harold connected the flash drive to a computer.
A folder appeared.
Inside were scanned bank statements, copies of business contracts, photographs of signed documents, and several audio files.
Marcus opened the first document.
A series of payments had been made from a subsidiary account to a consulting firm he didn't recognize.
The amounts were substantial.
The authorizations carried Daniel's name.
Marcus opened another file.
The same consulting firm appeared again.
Then again.
The dates stretched across several months, ending shortly before his father's death.
“What is this company?”” Marcus asked.
Harold leaned closer to the screen.
“I've never heard of it.””
Loretta pressed her fingers against her lips.
Marcus opened a scanned registration document.
The consulting firm had been incorporated under a different name. Its listed director was a woman named Vanessa Cole.
Marcus stopped breathing.
He read the name again.
Then he opened the next document.
A bank transfer.
Another signature.
Another date.
The company had received payments from an account connected to the Reed estate.
Vanessa had told him she had met Daniel only twice before their engagement.
She had said she barely knew anything about his business affairs.
The documents suggested otherwise.
Marcus turned toward Loretta.
“Did you know she had a company?””
Loretta shook her head.
“No.””
He looked back at the screen.
His fingers trembled as he opened the audio folder.
The first recording was dated six weeks before his father's death.
A man's voice filled the room.
Daniel Whitmore.
“The transfer is complete,” Daniel said.
“The records will look clean once the quarter closes.””
A second voice answered.
Marcus leaned closer.
It was a woman's voice.
Vanessa's.
“Then we have nothing to worry about?””
“Not if the original documents remain where they are.””
“What if he finds them?””
A pause followed.
Then Daniel answered.
“He won't. Your father has been asking questions, but he doesn't know where to look.””
Marcus felt the blood drain from his face.
The recording continued.
Vanessa's voice became sharper.
“And Marcus?””
“Marcus knows nothing.””
“He can't know.””
“He won't, if you follow the plan.””
Marcus stopped the recording.
The silence in the office was unbearable.
Loretta covered her mouth.
Nia stood motionless beside the door, her eyes wide.
Marcus slowly turned toward his mother.
“Dad recorded them?””
“It appears so.””
“Did you know Vanessa was involved in his investigation?””
“No,” Loretta whispered.
“I swear to you, I didn't.””
Marcus looked at the screen again.
The date on the recording was six weeks before his father died.
He remembered that period vividly. He had been preparing to expand the business into a new market, spending long nights negotiating contracts and meeting investors.
His father had seemed distracted.
Once, during dinner, Marcus had asked whether something was wrong.
His father had smiled and told him to concentrate on his own future.
There are things a man must settle before he can rest, he had said.
Marcus had never asked what he meant.
Now he wished he had.
He opened the next audio file.
This one was shorter.
Daniel's voice came through first.
“The original is still in the desk?””
A woman's voice answered.
“Yes.””
“Then we need to retrieve it before Marcus starts asking questions.””
Marcus glanced at the envelope on the desk.
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a single photograph.
It showed Daniel standing beside Vanessa outside a building Marcus didn't recognize. They were both smiling. Between them stood a younger man holding a document folder.
On the back, his father's handwriting identified the date and location.
Marcus turned the photograph over again.
He knew the younger man.
It was his cousin, Andre.
Andre had died in a car accident seven years earlier.
Marcus sat down slowly.
“What was Andre doing with them?””
Loretta took the photograph with trembling hands.
“Oh, God.””
Marcus looked up.
“You recognize this?””
She stared at the image.
“I've seen it before.””
“Where?””
“In your father's personal papers.””
“Why would Andre be meeting Daniel and Vanessa?””
Loretta shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Marcus studied the photograph.
Vanessa had been much younger then, but unmistakable. Daniel's hand rested on her shoulder. Andre stood between them, holding a folder.
The date was seven years old.
Marcus and Vanessa had met less than a year ago.
He looked toward Nia.
“Did Vanessa know my cousin?””
Nia shook her head.
“I couldn't say, sir.””
Marcus returned his attention to the computer.
There was one audio file left.
He clicked it.
At first, there was only static.
Then his father's voice emerged.
“If anything happens to me, Marcus must see the original agreement. The copy is not enough. Daniel knows the difference, and Vanessa knows where it is.””
A long pause followed.
Then another voice, faint and strained, spoke.
Marcus leaned closer.
His father's voice returned.
“Because the original contains the signature that proves who authorized the first transfer.””
The recording ended.
Marcus stared at the blank screen.
He understood almost nothing about the full scheme, but one thing was clear: his father had been investigating a financial betrayal, and Vanessa had been involved long before their relationship began.
He turned toward Loretta.
“Where is the original agreement?””
His mother looked as if she might collapse.
“I don't know.””
Marcus stood.
“Then we're going to find it.””
A knock sounded at the office door.
The security guard entered.
“Mr. Reed, the police have arrived. They'd like to speak with Ms. Cole.””
Marcus nodded.
“Tell them we'll be there shortly.””
The guard hesitated.
“There is one more thing.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Ms. Cole is no longer in the ballroom.””
Nia gasped.
“What?””
“She asked to use the ladies' room. A female staff member accompanied her to the corridor. When they reached the restroom entrance, Ms.
Cole asked the staff member to retrieve her coat. By the time the staff member returned, Ms. Cole was gone.””
Marcus stared at him.
“Gone where?””
“We're checking the exits.””
Marcus looked toward the ballroom, then back at the flash drive.
Vanessa had known the police were coming.
She had heard the recordings.
She knew Marcus had found his father's documents.
And now she had disappeared.
He reached for his phone.
“Call every security post. Nobody is to confront her if they find her. The police handle it.””
The guard hurried away.
Marcus turned back to the computer.
The audio file remained open.
He replayed his father's final sentence.
The original contains the signature that proves who authorized the first transfer.
Then he looked at the photograph of Andre.
Something about the image bothered him.
It wasn't just that Andre had known Daniel.
It was the date.
Seven years earlier, Andre had been the only person in the family who had openly challenged Daniel's management of the business.
And three months after the photograph was taken, Andre had died.
Marcus looked at the sealed envelope again.
Beneath the photograph, he found a final handwritten note.
It contained just one sentence.
*The person who signed the original agreement is still receiving payments.*
Marcus stared at the words.
His father had not written a name.
But he had left a clue.
Someone had continued receiving money long after the original transfer.
Someone who still had access to the family.
Someone who might have helped Vanessa hide what she had done.
Marcus slowly turned toward his mother.
“Mom, where were you the night Andre died?””
May you like
Loretta's face went white.
And before she could answer, the office phone began to ring.
