Chương 5
“I found a connection from a device registered to this floor,” Daniel said.
“Not the main computer.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Rebecca stepped closer.
“Where is it?”
Daniel looked toward the wall behind the bookshelf.
Nobody followed his eyes at first.
Then Catherine noticed.
A small section of wood paneling sat slightly uneven compared with the rest.
It was the kind of thing most people would never notice.
But Catherine cleaned offices.
She noticed crooked pictures.
She noticed stains hidden under rugs.
She noticed when furniture had been moved two inches because someone wanted to hide something.
“That wasn’t there yesterday,” she said.
Everyone turned toward her.
James frowned.
“What?”
Catherine walked slowly toward the bookshelf.
“I clean this office every night.”
She pointed.
“That panel has been closed.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“How sure?”
Catherine touched the edge of the wood without opening it.
“I know every scratch on this floor.”
Nobody laughed.
Because they believed her.
Daniel examined the panel.
“There’s a mechanism.”
Rebecca looked at James.
“You didn’t know about this?”
James shook his head.
“No.”
Richard Bennett gave a quiet breath.
“Maxwell always did that.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Did what?” Rebecca asked.
“Built things nobody knew about.”
Richard stepped closer.
“He hated feeling trapped.”
James looked almost offended.
“That doesn’t explain hiding a computer in his office.”
“No.”
Richard looked at him.
“It explains hiding anything he thought someone might take from him.”
The words stayed there.
Catherine looked at James.
For the first time, she wondered if James had spent years beside Maxwell without actually knowing him.
The panel opened with a soft click.
Behind it was a narrow compartment.
Inside sat a small black terminal connected to a power source.
No keyboard.
No monitor.
Only a single port and a small indicator light.
Daniel crouched.
“It’s active.”
Rebecca’s face tightened.
“Active how?”
“It’s transmitting.”
“To where?”
“I’m trying to find out.”
James stepped closer.
Daniel immediately raised a hand.
“Don’t touch it.”
James stopped.
“I wasn’t going to.”
“You were thinking about it.”
James looked annoyed.
“I’m standing in my friend’s office while everyone acts like I’m the criminal.”
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew what to say.
The accusation was not spoken.
But it was present.
Lily watched James carefully.
She noticed something adults missed.
He was angry.
But underneath the anger was hurt.
Like someone had taken something away from him before anyone had decided whether he deserved it.
Her mother always said people were complicated.
Lily was beginning to understand what that meant.
Richard moved toward the desk.
“Maxwell left something.”
Rebecca turned.
“How do you know?”
“Because he called me before he disappeared.”
James looked at him.
“You said he canceled our meeting.”
“He did.”
“Then why did he call you?”
Richard looked at his son.
“Because he didn’t trust you.”
The sentence was quiet.
That made it worse.
James looked away.
Catherine saw the reaction.
Not guilt.
Pain.
Real pain.
“He said that?” James asked.
Richard hesitated.
“No.”
“Then why say it?”
“Because he called me instead of you.”
James swallowed.
Nobody spoke.
The room felt smaller.
Then the terminal made a sound.
A small electronic beep.
Daniel looked down.
“Someone is accessing it.”
“From where?” Rebecca asked.
Daniel watched the screen of his device.
“Remote connection.”
“Can you block it?”
“I can try.”
“Try faster.”
Daniel ignored her.
His fingers moved quickly.
The rest of them stood helplessly.
Catherine hated that feeling.
She hated watching people with money, authority, and expensive education all waiting for one person to solve something.
It reminded her of hospitals.
Everyone looked important until the machine started making noises.
Then everyone became human.
Lily sat quietly in one of the chairs.
She looked at the photographs on Maxwell’s shelf.
The one with James.
The one where both men were younger.
They were standing outside a factory.
James was laughing.
Maxwell was holding a hard hat.
They looked like people who believed they had already won.
“Mom.”
Catherine turned.
“What?”
“Can I ask something?”
“Of course.”
Lily looked at James.
“Did Mr. Bennett and Mr. Wilson fight recently?”
Everyone looked at her.
James answered first.
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised Catherine.
“When?”
“Last week.”
“About what?”
James rubbed his face.
“About a project.”
“What project?”
James looked at Rebecca.
The lawyer nodded slightly.
“Tell them.”
James looked uncomfortable.
“There was a company acquisition.”
Richard’s expression changed.
“What acquisition?”
James looked at his father.
“The one Maxwell stopped.”
“Why?”
“Because he thought something was wrong.”
Rebecca stepped forward.
“James.”
“What?”
“You never told legal that.”
“Because Maxwell told me not to.”
“Why would he tell you not to?”
James stared at the floor.
“Because he didn’t know who to trust.”
The sentence landed differently now.
Catherine looked at the blue folder.
The hidden terminal.
The missing CEO.
The man everyone thought knew everything.
Maybe Maxwell Bennett had not been hiding information because he wanted control.
Maybe he had been hiding because he was afraid.
Daniel suddenly stood.
“I have something.”
Everyone turned.
The security officer looked at his screen.
“The terminal sent one file before I blocked the connection.”
“What file?” Rebecca asked.
Daniel hesitated.
“That’s the problem.”
“Daniel.”
“It’s a video.”
James frowned.
“From where?”
“From this office.”
Nobody spoke.
“Play it,” Richard said.
Daniel looked uncertain.
“It might contain private information.”
Richard’s voice hardened.
“My son may be accused of stealing a company.”
He looked around the room.
“My other son is missing.”
He nodded toward James.
“I think we are past worrying about privacy.”
James looked at him.
For a second, the old family tension disappeared.
Only concern remained.
Daniel connected the device.
The video appeared on his screen.
The image was dark.
The angle was strange.
It was not from a normal security camera.
It looked like it was recorded from inside the office.
A hidden camera.
The timestamp showed two nights earlier.
Maxwell Bennett entered the room.
He looked exhausted.
May you like
Not like a billionaire.
Like a man who had not slept.
