Chương 12
Linda’s face drained.
Dad looked at the drive again.
Then at her.
“Were you trying to copy something?”
She said nothing.
“Or delete it?”
Still nothing.
Marcus’s expression changed.
He looked toward the basement.
“Richard.”
“What?”
“The archive workstation has network access.”
Dad went still.
Marcus continued.
“If she plugged that in, we need IT to isolate it now.”
Linda’s mouth opened.
That was enough.
Dad looked at the officer.
“Please secure the computer.”
The officer nodded to her partner.
He turned immediately toward the stairs.
Linda shouted after him.
“Don’t touch it.”
Everyone froze.
The officer looked back.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Mom whispered, “There it is.”
Linda seemed to hear herself too late.
She took a breath.
“I mean because company records are confidential.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You don’t work for the company.”
She looked at him.
“No.”
“You don’t have permission to access the archive.”
“No.”
“You don’t have permission to use that workstation.”
Her jaw tightened.
“No.”
Marcus glanced at Dad.
“She just answered half the incident report for us.”
Linda glared at him.
I expected her to lash out again.
Instead, she looked suddenly tired.
Older.
The rage that had carried her through the evening seemed to be collapsing under the weight of consequences she had not expected to survive it.
She looked at Daniel.
“I was trying to protect this family.”
He stared at her.
“From what?”
Her eyes moved to my father.
“From him.”
Dad’s expression hardened.
“You came into my building with a storage device and lied about why you were here.”
Linda looked at him.
“And you buried evidence that could have destroyed my husband.”
Howard’s voice came from behind us.
“She’s right about that part.”
We all turned.
He stood near the service elevator, breathing hard, his tie loosened and his coat unbuttoned.
Daniel stared at him.
“Dad.”
Howard looked at Linda first.
Then at my father.
Then at the evidence bag.
His shoulders sank.
“I should have told the truth two years ago.”
Linda’s face changed.
“Howard.”
He ignored her.
Dad looked at him.
“About what?”
Howard gave a tired laugh.
“You know.”
“No.”
“I know about the billing.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Howard stared at the USB drive.
“Then you’re about to find out.”
Howard stepped farther into the corridor, and Linda’s whole body seemed to tense against the sight of him.
“You said you were going home.”
“I changed my mind.”
“You always do that when it’s too late.”
Howard looked at her.
“No, Linda, usually I do the opposite.”
Daniel rubbed one hand over his mouth.
“Dad, what’s on the drive?”
Howard’s eyes stayed on Linda.
“I don’t know exactly.”
She laughed once.
“That’s convenient.”
“I know what she kept.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“What did she keep?”
Howard looked at my father.
“Copies of everything she thought might protect us.”
Dad stared at him.
“Everything from the billing review?”
“Not just that.”
Marcus shifted the evidence bag in his hand.
The female officer looked from Howard to Linda.
“Sir, before you continue, I need to know whether you’re describing potential evidence related to financial misconduct.”
Howard gave a slow nod.
“Yes.”
Linda snapped toward him.
“Do not answer that.”
The officer’s expression sharpened.
“He is not required to follow your instructions.”
“He is my husband.”
Howard looked almost amused.
“Tonight that qualification has lost some of its force.”
Linda’s face went white.
Daniel closed his eyes briefly.
I watched him absorb another fracture in the family he had spent years defending.
Howard looked at the officer.
“I need a lawyer before I give a formal statement.”
“That’s your right.”
“But I can tell you this much.”
Linda stepped toward him.
The officer moved between them.
“Ma’am.”
Linda stopped.
Howard swallowed.
“My firm overbilled several properties managed by Bellamy Hospitality.”
Dad said nothing.
Howard continued.
“It started as something smaller than what it became.”
Mom folded her arms.
“That sentence has probably introduced every financial scandal in history.”
Howard almost smiled, then seemed to remember where he was.
“It was vendor padding.”
Dad’s jaw tightened.
“Howard.”
“You asked.”
“I asked two years ago.”
“And I lied.”
The words landed quietly.
Daniel stared at his father.
“How much?”
Howard looked at him.
“I don’t know the final total.”
“You owned the company.”
“I still do.”
“How much?”
Howard exhaled.
“More than Richard found.”
Dad’s face changed.
“How much more?”
Howard looked at the floor.
“Across all clients, maybe six hundred thousand.”
Daniel stepped backward.
Mom whispered, “Oh my God.”
Linda shook her head rapidly.
“He doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
Howard turned toward her.
“I know exactly what I’m saying.”
“You’re panicking.”
“I should have panicked two years ago.”
“You fixed it.”
“No.”
Howard looked at my father.
“Richard fixed part of it.”
Dad’s expression became hard.
“I corrected the charges I could document.”
“I know.”
“And you told me it was contained.”
“It wasn’t.”
I felt sick.
The restaurant upstairs seemed suddenly very far away.
The muffled clatter of plates sounded like it belonged to another building.
Daniel stared at Howard.
“Was Mom involved?”
Howard’s silence was immediate and devastating.
Linda spoke before he could.
“No.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I didn’t ask you.”
“I’m telling you.”
“I asked him.”
Howard rubbed both hands together.
“Not at first.”
Linda lunged a step toward him.
“Howard.”
The officer raised her hand again.
“That’s enough.”
Howard looked at his wife.
“You found out.”
“I found out because you were careless.”
“You found out and helped me hide it.”
“I protected our family.”
Daniel looked at her.
“By doing what?”
Linda stared at him.
“Danny.”
“No.”
His voice was quieter now, and somehow that made it sharper.
“Stop calling me that every time you want me to become twelve years old.”
Her mouth tightened.
Howard closed his eyes briefly.
Daniel turned back to him.
“What did she do?”
Howard looked exhausted.
“She moved money between vendor accounts.”
Dad swore under his breath.
May you like
Marcus looked at him.
“Do any of those vendors contract with us?”
