PART 4
At 6:14 the next morning, Daniel Mercer was standing barefoot in his kitchen, trying to make pancakes without waking Sophie.
His phone vibrated across the marble counter.
He glanced at the screen.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
Normally, he would have ignored it.
But something about the timing made him answer.
“Daniel Mercer.”
For three seconds, there was only silence.
Then a man’s voice spoke.
“Mr. Mercer, don’t trust your board.”
Daniel’s hand stopped moving.
“Who is this?”
“You don’t have much time.”
Daniel lowered the heat beneath the pan.
“What are you talking about?”
“The investigation at Bellmont House wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Daniel frowned.
“Who are you?”
“I can’t tell you that over the phone.”
“Then why call me?”
“Because Vanessa Cole wasn’t the person running the operation.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“What operation?”
Another pause.
“The complaints. The employee write-ups. The manipulated reports. The missing financial records.”
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
Sophie was still asleep.
“Where are you?”
“I’ll contact you again.”
“Wait.”
The line went dead.
Daniel stared at the phone.
He immediately called the number back.
Nothing.
Disconnected.
He tried again.
Same result.
Daniel set the phone down.
His mind moved quickly.
For the past two months, he’d suspected that Bellmont House had a management problem.
Now he was beginning to suspect something much larger.
Someone had known about his investigation.
Someone had known he would visit the restaurant.
And someone had been afraid enough to warn him.
“Daddy?”
Daniel turned.
Sophie stood in the hallway wearing pink pajamas, her hair sticking up on one side.
“You’re making pancakes?”
Daniel smiled.
“I’m trying.”
She looked at the pan.
“They’re burning.”
Daniel glanced over.
He swore under his breath.
Sophie giggled.
“You’re not very good at this.”
“Apparently not.”
She climbed onto a chair.
“Did you sleep?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Not much.”
“Because of the restaurant lady?”
Daniel sat beside her.
“Something like that.”
Sophie looked serious.
“Is she going to hurt us?”
Daniel immediately shook his head.
“No.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Sophie studied his face.
“Then why do you look worried?”
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
Because he had learned something after his wife died.
Children noticed fear even when adults tried to hide it.
So he chose his words carefully.
“Sometimes when you find one problem, you discover another problem hiding behind it.”
Sophie nodded as though that made perfect sense.
“Like when I clean my room and find another mess under the bed?”
Daniel smiled.
“Exactly.”
She smiled back.
“But you’re going to fix it, right?”
Daniel kissed her forehead.
“I’m going to try.”
At 8:03 a.m., Daniel arrived at Bellmont Hospitality headquarters.
The building stood twenty-four stories above downtown.
Daniel entered through the private entrance.
Normally, employees would greet him.
That morning, conversations stopped when he walked past.
Something had already changed.
He entered the executive floor.
Richard Hale was waiting outside the boardroom.
“You received the call?”
Daniel nodded.
“Whoever it was knew details that haven’t been released.”
Richard’s expression became serious.
“What details?”
“The financial records.”
Richard’s face changed.
“What about them?”
“The caller mentioned missing financial records.”
Richard was silent.
Daniel noticed.
“What?”
Richard looked toward the boardroom.
“I didn’t tell you everything last night.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“What didn’t you tell me?”
Richard opened the door.
Inside, the company’s chief financial officer, Marcus Whitmore, was sitting at the conference table.
Alongside him were three board members.
Daniel stopped.
“Why is Marcus here?”
Richard closed the door behind him.
“Because he’s the reason I asked you to come in early.”
Marcus stood.
“Daniel.”
Daniel didn’t sit.
“Explain.”
Marcus took a breath.
“We found irregularities in Bellmont House’s financial records.”
Daniel looked at Richard.
“How much?”
“Approximately $480,000.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Missing?”
“Misallocated.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“I know.”
Daniel walked to the table.
“Where did it go?”
Marcus pushed a folder toward him.
“We don’t know yet.”
Daniel opened it.
The first pages showed vendor payments.
Then refunds.
Then employee bonuses.
Then marketing expenses.
Daniel turned another page.
His eyes narrowed.
“What’s this?”
Marcus looked down.
“Those are payments to a consulting company.”
“Which company?”
“Northbridge Advisory.”
Daniel looked at Richard.
“Do we have a contract with them?”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
Daniel turned another page.
There were twelve payments.
Every payment had been approved electronically.
And every approval carried a digital authorization from someone inside the company.
Daniel stared at the signature.
“Who authorized these?”
Marcus hesitated.
Then said:
“Your executive account.”
Daniel looked up.
“I didn’t authorize anything.”
“We know.”
“Then somebody used my credentials.”
Richard nodded.
“That appears to be the case.”
Daniel closed the folder.
“Who has access?”
Marcus answered.
“Four people.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Names.”
Marcus counted them off.
“You.”
“Me.”
“The CFO.”
“Marcus.”
“The general counsel.”
“Richard.”
“And the chief operating officer.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Richard answered.
“Gregory Shaw.”
Daniel leaned back.
Gregory Shaw.
Chief Operating Officer.
His father’s former business partner.
A man who had worked at Bellmont Hospitality for eleven years.
A man Daniel had trusted enough to give almost complete operational control after his wife’s death.
A man who had repeatedly told Daniel:
“Focus on Sophie. I’ll handle the company.”
Daniel suddenly remembered something.
Gregory had been the person who recommended Vanessa.
He had also been the executive who rejected three previous complaints against her.
And he had been the one who insisted Daniel should not visit Bellmont House personally.
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“Where is Gregory?”
Richard checked his phone.
“He hasn’t arrived.”
Daniel looked at the clock.
“It’s 8:17.”
Marcus nodded.
“He usually arrives before eight.”
Daniel’s phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
Unknown Number:
Don’t confront Gregory yet.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Richard noticed.
“What does it say?”
Daniel showed him.
Marcus leaned forward.
“Who sent that?”
“I don’t know.”
Another message appeared.
Look at the guest complaint from March 17.
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Richard.”
“Yes?”
“Pull every document connected to March 17.”
Richard immediately picked up his laptop.
Marcus looked confused.
“Why March 17?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Because he remembered that date.
March 17 was the date of the first anonymous complaint about Vanessa.
And it was also the day Gregory had suddenly taken a business trip.
A trip Daniel had never questioned.
Richard searched the database.
“Found something.”
“What?”
“Complaint filed at 9:42 p.m.”
“Against Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“Who filed it?”
Richard frowned.
“It was submitted anonymously.”
Daniel looked at the screen.
“Open it.”
Richard opened the file.
The complaint was short.
Manager discriminates against guests based on appearance. Employees are instructed to prioritize wealthy customers. Complaints are being deleted.
Daniel stared at the words.
“That’s exactly what we found.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Whoever wrote this knew what was happening.”
Richard scrolled down.
“There’s an attachment.”
He opened it.
A photograph appeared.
Daniel went completely still.
It showed Vanessa standing in a back office.
Beside her was Gregory Shaw.
They were looking at a spreadsheet.
Daniel zoomed in.
At the top of the spreadsheet was a list of guest names.
Beside each name were dollar amounts.
Some were marked green.
Others red.
Daniel whispered:
“They were ranking customers.”
Richard nodded.
“But that’s not the worst part.”
He opened another attachment.
This one was a recording.
A woman’s voice could be heard.
Vanessa.
“Gregory said corporate won’t investigate as long as the numbers look good.”
A man’s voice responded.
Gregory.
“Daniel isn’t paying attention anymore. He’s too busy being a father.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
The recording continued.
Vanessa laughed.
“Then we can keep doing this?”
Gregory answered:
“Until the ownership structure changes.”
Daniel stopped breathing for a moment.
“Ownership structure?”
Richard paused the recording.
Daniel looked at him.
“Play it.”
Richard did.
Gregory’s voice continued.
“Once Daniel transfers enough authority to the executive group, he won’t be able to interfere.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Why would I transfer authority?”
Richard looked at him.
“That may be the question we need to answer.”
Daniel suddenly remembered a document Gregory had brought him six months earlier.
A restructuring proposal.
Daniel had refused to sign it.
The proposal would have given the executive board greater authority over major operational decisions.
Gregory had said it would make Daniel’s life easier.
Daniel had thrown it into a drawer.
He had never thought about it again.
Until now.
“Richard.”
“Yes?”
“Check whether that proposal was ever filed.”
Richard searched.
His face changed.
“It was.”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“I never signed it.”
“I know.”
“Then who did?”
Richard looked at the screen.
There was a signature.
Daniel’s signature.
Perfectly copied.
Daniel stared at it.
Someone had forged his name.
But there was something else.
The document had been notarized.
Daniel looked at Richard.
“Who was the notary?”
Richard searched.
Then went completely silent.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Richard?”
He turned the laptop around.
The notary’s name was listed.
Elaine Mercer.
Daniel froze.
Elaine.
His late wife’s name.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Daniel whispered:
“That’s impossible.”
Richard looked at him carefully.
“Your wife died three years ago.”
“I know.”
“So someone deliberately used her name.”
Daniel stared at the document.
His wife’s death certificate had been filed three years earlier.
Nobody could legally have notarized anything under her identity.
Unless—
Daniel’s mind raced.
“Who has access to her old identification records?”
Richard immediately looked at Marcus.
Marcus shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Daniel picked up the document.
His hands were trembling.
Then his phone rang.
This time, the caller ID displayed a number.
Daniel answered.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice whispered:
“Daniel?”
He recognized it immediately.
His wife’s sister.
“Claire?”
She was crying.
“Daniel, I should have told you this months ago.”
Daniel stood completely still.
“Told me what?”
Claire’s voice broke.
“Your wife didn’t die without leaving something behind.”
Daniel’s heart stopped.
“What are you talking about?”
“I found a letter.”
“What letter?”
“It was hidden in her old safety deposit box.”
Daniel’s grip tightened around the phone.
“What does it say?”
Claire hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Your wife knew someone was stealing from Bellmont.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Claire continued.
“And she knew the person responsible.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
“Who?”
Claire’s voice dropped to almost a whisper.
“Gregory Shaw.”
The room went silent.
Daniel looked across the conference table.
Marcus.
Richard.
The forged document.
The missing money.
Vanessa.
Gregory.
And suddenly, the pieces began connecting.
But Claire wasn’t finished.
“There was another name in the letter.”
Daniel’s voice was barely audible.
“Whose?”
Claire took a shaky breath.
“Yours.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
“What do you mean?”
“She wrote that if anything happened to her…”
Claire started crying again.
“…you were not to trust anyone inside Bellmont Hospitality.”
Daniel looked at Richard.
Then Marcus.
Then the locked door.
And for the first time in years, Daniel wondered whether his wife’s death had truly been an accident.
Because someone had spent three years making sure he never asked that question.
And now that he finally had…
Someone was already moving to stop him.
