Chapter 8 - The Signature That Wasn’t Hers
For five years Elena had signed gala invitations, thank-you letters, and ceremonial checks as honorary chair of the Ward Foundation. Victor had told her the paperwork was harmless. She'd never been offered control of the accounts. Now a bank record showed her digital authorization on dozens of transfers to Northstar, often in the middle of the night.
"I didn't do this," she told Detective Pierce.
"I believe you understand what the records claim," Pierce answered. "What matters next is proving how someone made them claim it."
The digital credential had been issued through a company phone Elena surrendered after Victor insisted it was unsafe. The old phone's registered device number matched the approvals. A technician at the foundation, Owen Park, had been assigned to manage it.
"Find Owen," Elena said.
Dana shook her head. "We invite him to tell the truth. We don't corner a scared employee and accidentally give defense counsel a story about coercion."
Owen agreed to a meeting at a public library after his shift. He was twenty-six, with red-rimmed eyes and an oversized sweater. He looked like he hadn't slept since the ballroom incident hit the morning news.
"I activated the credential," he admitted. "Celia told me Elena had approved it. She had an assistant bring me her ID and an old signed form. Then Victor ordered me to route the approvals through a backup device. I knew it was wrong after the first month."
"Why keep doing it?" Elena asked.
"My dad's on dialysis. The insurance comes from this job." He stared at his hands. "They make sure everybody needs something."
"Did Marcus know?"
Owen's face crumpled. "He came to me. He said if I helped him trace the approvals, he could protect me. I gave him logs. Then he died."
Elena reached across the table, stopped short, and let Owen choose whether to take her hand. He didn't. "Would you give those logs to the detective?"
"Yes. But there's something else." Owen took an envelope from his bag. "Marcus didn't just ask about the money. He asked why the bridge maintenance cameras were taken offline for precisely seventeen minutes."
He laid down a printed work order. The authorized requester was Victor Ward.
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The date was the night Marcus died.
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