Chapter 6 - THE MAN WHO HAD ACCESS TO EVERYTHING
Daniel didn't sleep.
At five in the morning, he sat alone in his study with Claire's note on the desk.
ASK MARK ABOUT VICTOR.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Claire had written it before she died.
Which meant Victor Hale had been connected to something in their lives long before Rachel entered the picture.
Daniel called his head of security.
“I need every access log from the house for the last eighteen months.”
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
“Even routine entries?”
“Especially routine entries.”
Then he called his chief financial officer.
“I need a list of every payment to Victor Hale's companies.”
His CFO hesitated.
“Daniel, there are hundreds.”
“Give me all of them.”
“Why?”
“Because I asked.”
The CFO understood.
“I'll have it in an hour.”
At six thirty, Daniel found Lily in the kitchen.
She was sitting on the counter eating cereal.
Owen was beside her in his high chair.
Rachel was nowhere to be seen.
“Where's Rachel?”
“She went outside.”
“Did she say why?”
“She was crying.”
Daniel sat beside Lily.
“Did she ever tell you not to tell me about Victor?”
Lily frowned.
“Who is Victor?”
“Never mind.”
He smiled.
“Eat your cereal.”
She nodded.
Daniel looked at her carefully.
“Lily?”
“Yes?”
“If you ever feel scared, you can tell me.”
She nodded.
“Even if someone says you'll get in trouble.”
“Even then.”
She looked down at her cereal.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Always.”
“Rachel isn't the only person who scared me.”
Daniel's stomach tightened.
“Who else?”
She looked toward the window.
“Mr. Mark.”
Daniel went still.
“What did Mark do?”
“He came here once.”
“When?”
“Before Christmas.”
“What happened?”
“He gave me a present.”
“What kind?”
“A silver music box.”
Daniel frowned.
“Where is it?”
“In my room.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Rachel told me not to open it.”
“Why?”
“She said it wasn't from Daddy.”
Daniel stood.
“Show me.”
Lily led him upstairs.
The music box sat on her dresser.
It was beautiful.
Silver.
Small.
Engraved with a tiny flower.
Daniel picked it up.
Something rattled inside.
He opened the back panel.
A miniature recording device was hidden beneath the mechanism.
His blood ran cold.
“Did you know this was here?”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
Daniel immediately called security.
They arrived within minutes.
The device was removed and secured.
The recordings could potentially establish who had planted it and what had been captured.
Daniel looked at Lily.
“Did anyone ever ask you questions while this was here?”
She nodded.
“Who?”
“Mr. Mark.”
“What did he ask?”
“About Daddy.”
“What about me?”
“Where you went.”
“Who you talked to.”
“What else?”
Lily thought.
“He asked if you and Rachel fought.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Did he ask about Mommy?”
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
“That Mommy was in heaven.”
Lily looked confused.
“Why?”
Daniel hugged her.
“You did nothing wrong.”
Then he called the board chairman.
“Do not let Mark into the building.”
“What happened?”
“I'll explain when I arrive.”
At Mercer Ridge headquarters, Daniel entered through a private elevator.
The boardroom was already full.
Mark wasn't there.
His CFO displayed the financial records.
Payments to Victor Hale's company had increased dramatically over the last year.
But the strange part was not the amount.
It was the timing.
Payments increased whenever Daniel traveled.
Chicago.
New York.
Dallas.
London.
Each time Daniel was away, money moved.
Each time he returned, it stopped.
Daniel stared at the pattern.
Someone had been using his travel schedule.
The board chairman asked, “Do you believe this is internal fraud?”
“I don't know yet.”
“What about your household?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Someone installed a recording device in my daughter's bedroom.”
The room went silent.
“Do you know who?”
“Not yet.”
Then the security director entered.
“We found something.”
He placed a tablet on the table.
A video showed Mark entering Daniel's house.
Not once.
Seven times.
Each entry had been approved using Daniel's executive credentials.
The board chairman frowned.
“Did Daniel authorize these?”
“No.”
“Then how?”
The security director pointed to the records.
“His credentials were duplicated.”
Daniel felt a chill.
Someone had copied his digital access.
But why?
The CFO opened another file.
“There are transfers to Victor Hale.”
Daniel looked.
Then he saw the account receiving them.
It wasn't Victor's main company.
It was a shell company.
Owned by a trust.
The beneficiary was hidden.
Daniel looked at the board chairman.
“Can we identify it?”
“Legally, yes.”
The CFO nodded.
“We already requested the records.”
Hours later, they had an answer.
The beneficiary was not Mark.
It wasn't Victor.
It wasn't Rachel.
It was a company connected to a former Mercer Ridge executive.
Daniel recognized the name.
Evan Mercer.
His younger cousin.
The family member who had lost a senior position at the company two years earlier.
Daniel had fired him for manipulating expense reports.
Evan had sworn revenge.
Daniel hadn't thought about him since.
Now everything changed.
Evan had motive.
Access to company systems.
Knowledge of Daniel's schedule.
And connections to Victor.
But why involve Rachel?
Why target the children?
Daniel returned home that evening.
Rachel was waiting.
“I know who it is.”
“Who?”
“Evan.”
She looked confused.
“Who?”
“My cousin.”
Rachel's expression changed.
“I've met him.”
“When?”
“Several times.”
Daniel stared.
“How?”
“He came to the house.”
“When?”
Rachel hesitated.
“After Claire died.”
Daniel's stomach tightened.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I thought you knew.”
“No.”
Rachel sat down.
“He said he was helping you with company matters.”
“I never asked him to.”
“I didn't know that.”
Daniel stared at her.
Then he remembered something.
Rachel had once told him Evan had been kind to her when Daniel was consumed by work.
She had said he understood what it was like to feel invisible.
Daniel had dismissed the comment.
Now it mattered.
“Did Evan ever talk to you about Claire?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He thought you had abandoned her.”
Daniel frowned.
“Why?”
“Because you were always working.”
Rachel looked ashamed.
“He said you needed someone to remind you what mattered.”
Daniel stared.
“Did he manipulate you?”
Rachel's eyes filled.
“I think so.”
That was the second reversal.
Rachel had been cruel.
But perhaps someone else had been feeding her fears.
Someone had encouraged her resentment.
Someone had used her insecurity.
“Did Evan tell you to remove Claire's things?”
Rachel nodded.
“He said it would help the children bond with me.”
Daniel felt sick.
“Did he tell you to monitor Lily?”
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you to lock her in the laundry room?”
“No.”
“Then who decided that?”
Rachel looked down.
“I did.”
The answer was painful because it was honest.
Daniel nodded.
“I appreciate the truth.”
Rachel cried.
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
“I don't expect you to forgive me.”
“I don't know if I can.”
“I understand.”
Daniel sat across from her.
“But I need to know everything.”
Rachel nodded.
She told him about the messages Evan had sent.
How he had praised her.
How he had told her Daniel would never love her as much as he loved Claire.
How he had encouraged her to believe Lily was rejecting her.
How he had convinced her that if she didn't control the children, she would lose Daniel.
Daniel listened.
Then he asked the most important question.
“Did Evan ever threaten you?”
Rachel looked at him.
“Yes.”
“With what?”
She reached into a drawer.
Pulled out a photograph.
It showed Rachel standing beside Evan.
Behind them was Claire's hospital room.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
“When was this taken?”
Rachel whispered:
“The day Claire died.”
Daniel stared.
“Why did Evan have this?”
“I don't know.”
Then Rachel turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
You owe me for keeping Daniel distracted.
Daniel read the sentence twice.
“What does that mean?”
Rachel shook her head.
“I don't know.”
His phone buzzed.
A message from security.
We found the source of the recording device.
Daniel opened the attached report.
The device had been activated remotely.
The activation signal came from a phone registered to Evan Mercer.
Daniel looked at Rachel.
“This isn't just about the company.”
“No.”
“He was listening to the children.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Neither of them knew.
Then another file appeared.
A recovered audio recording.
Lily's voice.
Small.
Afraid.
“Mr. Mark said Daddy doesn't know what really happened to Mommy.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
“He said if I told Daddy, Daddy would be very sad.”
Then Lily whispered something else.
“Mr. Mark said Mommy didn't die the way Daddy thinks.”
Daniel dropped the phone onto the table.
Rachel covered her mouth.
The room went silent.
May you like
Because the mystery had just become bigger than money, jealousy, or corporate revenge.
Someone had been telling Daniel's seven-year-old daughter that her mother's death had been a lie.
