Chương 6
“I don’t know.”
That was the part that bothered him most.
Not the accusation.
Not even the investigation.
It was the empty space where the answer should have been.
Someone had decided to damage his life, and he had no idea who wanted him gone.
That night, Daniel barely slept.
At two in the morning, he walked into the kitchen and found himself opening drawers without knowing what he was looking for.
He found an old receipt from a hardware store.
A broken pen.
A birthday card from his late wife that he had forgotten was there.
He sat at the table holding the card until his coffee went cold.
Anna had always been better at noticing people than he was.
She would have known exactly who was lying.
She would have asked the question he avoided.
Why would someone choose this now?
The next morning, Daniel went back to the office.
Half the employees avoided eye contact.
A few looked embarrassed.
One of the newer workers, Tyler, walked toward him and stopped halfway.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Daniel waited.
Tyler looked down.
“I just wanted to say I don’t believe—”
He stopped.
Daniel noticed.
“Don’t believe what?”
Tyler swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
That answer was more honest than Daniel expected.
He nodded once.
“Thanks for trying.”
Tyler walked away looking relieved and ashamed at the same time.
Inside his office, the envelope was still there.
Nobody had touched it.
Daniel knew because the corner of it was bent exactly the way he had seen it the day before.
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a single printed page.
A list of payments.
Dates.
Amounts.
Account numbers.
At the bottom was his signature.
Daniel stared at it.
The signature looked like his.
That was the worst part.
Not fake.
Not obviously wrong.
Just close enough.
He sat down and pulled open his computer.
The company accounting system showed the same transactions.
His name appeared beside them.
His password had been used.
His authorization had been recorded.
For ten minutes, he did nothing.
Then he called the only person who could have helped him understand.
“Rachel,” he said when she answered.
His business partner sounded like she had been expecting the call.
“I wondered when you’d call me.”
Daniel leaned back.
“What does that mean?”
“It means everyone has called me.”
The answer was sharper than he expected.
“Everyone?”
“Employees. Clients. The bank. My husband, because apparently someone sent him a message asking if he knew what was happening.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“That’s not normal.”
“No.”
Rachel’s voice softened.
“But neither is someone using your credentials to move money.”
He looked at the document again.
“Did you do it?”
The silence that followed changed the room.
Daniel immediately regretted asking.
Not because the question was wrong.
Because he had never imagined saying it.
Rachel exhaled.
“After everything?”
“I’m asking.”
“You think I would steal from the company?”
“I think someone did.”
“And because my name is closest to yours, I’m the first person you ask?”
Daniel looked away.
Outside the window, a delivery driver carried boxes into the building next door.
The world kept moving.
That felt unfair.
“Rachel,” he said.
“No.”
Her voice became quieter.
“You don’t get to say my name like that and pretend it fixes the question.”
He had no answer.
They stayed silent.
Finally Rachel spoke.
“There’s something you need to know.”
Daniel waited.
“Three months ago, I found irregular payments.”
His fingers tightened around the paper.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wasn’t sure.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It is when the person who approves the payments is your best friend.”
The words landed slowly.
Daniel looked at the signature again.
“I didn’t approve these.”
“I know.”
“You just said—”
“I know what I said.”
Rachel stopped.
“I thought you were doing something I didn’t understand.”
A strange feeling moved through him.
Not anger.
Not exactly.
Something worse.
Disappointment.
Because somewhere inside him, he had believed Rachel was the one person who would never doubt him.
And somewhere inside her, she had already started wondering.
“Who else knew?” Daniel asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Who had access?”
“More people than should.”
That answer bothered him.
Not because it was impossible.
Because it was true.
Over the years, Daniel had trusted people by habit.
He gave employees responsibility because he remembered what it felt like when nobody trusted him.
He gave second chances because Anna used to tell him that people were more than their worst day.
But sometimes, he was beginning to understand, kindness could create blind spots.
Rachel cleared her throat.
“There’s another thing.”
Daniel waited.
“I found something in the old files.”
“What?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“That’s not helpful.”
“I know.”
For the first time in days, he almost smiled.
Rachel always admitted her flaws faster than anyone else he knew.
“It’s a document from before we opened the second location.”
“What kind of document?”
“I’ll bring it to you.”
“No.”
The word surprised both of them.
“Why?”
“Because if someone is setting me up, I don’t want everything important sitting in one place.”
Rachel was quiet.
Then she said, “That’s the first smart thing you’ve said since yesterday.”
Daniel looked at the envelope.
The accusation had changed something.
Not just how other people saw him.
How he saw himself.
For years, he had believed trust meant assuming the best.
Now he wondered if sometimes trust meant being willing to ask harder questions before everything collapsed.
“Bring a copy,” he said.
“Okay.”
“And Rachel?”
“What?”
“Don’t tell anyone we’re looking.”
Another pause.
“You’re worried about me.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She hung up.
Daniel stayed there for another minute.
Then he opened his desk drawer and pulled out the old company files he had not touched in years.
Near the bottom was a folder with a faded label written in his own handwriting.
MERCER RESTORATION — ORIGINAL AGREEMENTS.
He opened it.
The first page was normal.
May you like
The second page was not.
A name appeared that he had not seen in almost seven years.
