Chapter 2 - THE WATCH IN HOWARD CALDWELL’S DESK
The conference room stayed silent after Marcus finished speaking.
Ryan stared at the documents in front of him.
Patricia kept her arms crossed.
Daniel looked at me as if he were seeing me for the first time.
Then the bank attorney said the words that changed everything.
“We are suspending the proposed capital facility until the ownership, vendor relationships, and related-party transactions are independently verified.”
Patricia shot to her feet.
“You can't do that.”
The attorney didn't react.
“Mrs. Caldwell, the bank is not accusing anyone of wrongdoing. We are saying the information currently available is insufficient for us to proceed.”
Daniel slowly stood.
“What happens now?”
Marcus answered.
“Now the company has to survive without the financing.”
Daniel looked at me.
“How long?”
“If you mean how long before payroll becomes a problem, we need the updated cash-flow report.”
Ryan suddenly spoke.
“We have money coming in.”
Marcus turned toward him.
“From which contracts?”
Ryan hesitated.
“That isn't the issue.”
“It is exactly the issue.”
The bank attorney cleared his throat.
“We have another concern.”
Everyone looked at him.
“The financing application represented that certain vendor relationships were arm's-length.”
He paused.
“If that representation is inaccurate, the existing lending agreements may require disclosure.”
Daniel's face went pale.
“Disclosure to whom?”
“To all relevant lenders.”
Patricia looked at me.
“This is what you wanted.”
I turned toward her.
“No.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You're destroying us.”
“I haven't destroyed anything.”
“You pulled the financing.”
“I withdrew a professional recommendation after discovering transactions that weren't properly disclosed.”
“You knew what would happen.”
“Yes.”
“And you did it anyway.”
I held her gaze.
“Yes.”
That answer seemed to shock her.
Perhaps she expected me to apologize.
I no longer felt the need.
Then Howard Caldwell entered the conference room.
He had been absent from the meeting until then.
He was seventy-one, the founder of Caldwell Development, and the man everyone in the company treated with a strange mixture of respect and fear.
He looked around the room.
Then at his wife.
Then his sons.
Finally, me.
“What happened?”
Nobody answered.
Howard slowly took the empty chair beside Daniel.
His eyes landed on the documents.
“Six hundred forty thousand dollars?”
Marcus nodded.
Howard looked at Ryan.
“Explain.”
Ryan swallowed.
“Dad—”
“Explain.”
“I handled some vendor relationships.”
“That's not what I asked.”
Ryan looked down.
Howard turned toward Patricia.
“And you?”
Patricia said nothing.
Howard's jaw tightened.
Then he looked at Daniel.
“You knew?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not all of it.”
Howard leaned back.
“Not all of it.”
His voice was quiet.
That made it worse.
“What did you know?”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“I knew Mom received consulting payments.”
“How much?”
“I didn't know the total.”
“And Ryan?”
“I knew he was paid.”
“How much?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Howard looked at me.
“You knew.”
I nodded.
“I found the transactions last night.”
Howard stared at the documents again.
Then something unexpected happened.
He smiled.
Not happily.
Sadly.
“I should have listened to you six months ago.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Howard reached into his jacket.
He pulled out an old silver pocket watch.
The metal was scratched.
The chain was worn.
He placed it on the table.
“I was given this by my father when I took over the company.”
Daniel looked at it.
“Dad?”
Howard ignored him.
“I was twenty-eight.”
He opened the watch.
Inside the cover was an engraving.
BUILD SLOWLY. TRUST CAREFULLY.
“I thought those words meant never trust outsiders.”
He looked toward Patricia.
“Turns out they meant never trust people simply because they're family.”
Patricia's face hardened.
“Howard.”
He closed the watch.
“I need to see the original vendor files.”
Marcus nodded.
“We'll provide them.”
Howard looked at me.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
He continued.
“I want Emily to review them.”
Daniel stared.
“You're asking her?”
Howard looked directly at his son.
“Yes.”
“But she's my wife.”
“That is irrelevant.”
Daniel flinched.
Howard turned to me.
“You're the only person in this room who has no financial incentive to hide what you find.”
Patricia stood.
“She has every incentive.”
Howard looked at her.
“What?”
“She could be trying to control the company.”
The room went silent.
I stared at Patricia.
“I don't want your company.”
She laughed.
“Of course you don't.”
“I want the financing committee to receive accurate information.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“It isn't.”
Howard pushed the pocket watch toward me.
“Take this.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I'm asking you to do something my family should have done months ago.”
“What?”
“Find out whether we're dealing with incompetence or something worse.”
I looked at the watch.
Then at Daniel.
He was staring at his father.
Not me.
That surprised me.
There was something in his expression that looked like fear.
Not fear of me.
Fear of what his father might discover.
I took the watch.
“Okay.”
The meeting ended shortly afterward.
Daniel followed me into the hallway.
“Why did you agree?”
“Because your father asked.”
“You don't have to prove anything.”
“I know.”
He lowered his voice.
“Emily, please.”
“Please what?”
“Don't go after my family.”
I stared at him.
“I'm not going after anyone.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes.”
He looked exhausted.
“Then stop.”
I shook my head.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because now I don't know what I'm married into.”
He looked away.
I continued.
“And I need to.”
That evening, I returned to the Caldwell office with Marcus.
Howard had given me access to archived records.
The first six months of invoices looked ordinary.
Then we reached the older files.
There were gaps.
Not missing invoices.
Missing supporting documents.
I noticed something else.
Several payments to Patricia's consulting company had been approved by Daniel.
I stared at his initials.
Marcus noticed.
“That's interesting.”
“How?”
“Daniel was not listed as an authorized signatory on that account.”
I looked at him.
“Then why was he approving payments?”
“I don't know.”
We kept searching.
At 10:17 p.m., I found an old folder labeled CALDWELL FAMILY PROJECTS.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed Howard standing beside Daniel and Ryan at a construction site.
Daniel was perhaps twenty-two.
Ryan was eighteen.
Patricia stood behind them.
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten note.
ONE DAY, ONE OF YOU WILL HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN FAMILY AND THE COMPANY.
I read it twice.
Marcus looked over my shoulder.
“That's strange.”
I nodded.
But there was something else.
A second note had been written underneath.
HOWARD — DO NOT LET THEM CHOOSE FOR YOU.
I recognized the handwriting.
Howard's.
I looked at Marcus.
“What does that mean?”
Before he could answer, the office lights flickered.
Then the security system chimed.
Someone had entered the building.
We froze.
Marcus stood.
“Stay here.”
He walked toward the hallway.
I followed.
A man stepped into the doorway.
Daniel.
He stopped when he saw us.
“What are you doing here?”
I looked at him.
“You tell me.”
He stared at the photograph in my hand.
His face went pale.
“Where did you find that?”
“In your father's archive.”
He walked toward me.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“No.”
His eyes stayed fixed on the photograph.
Then he whispered,
“You don't understand what that picture means.”
“What does it mean?”
He looked at me.
“My father knew.”
“Knew what?”
Daniel swallowed.
“He knew someone in this family was stealing from the company.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
Then back at me.
“I don't know.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
He didn't answer.
I held up the old pocket watch.
“What does this have to do with it?”
Daniel stared at the watch.
May you like
Then said something that made my blood run cold.
“That watch stopped the night my father found the missing money.”
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