Chapter 7 - The Missing Drive
For ten seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Madison said, “Only three people knew.”
Claire looked at her. “You. Me. Arthur.”
“And Nora.”
Nora’s face tightened.
Arthur said sharply, “Be careful.”
“I’m not accusing anyone. I’m saying somebody found it within hours.”
Claire studied the photograph. “How do we know it was taken today?”
Madison zoomed in. “The cleaning cart. See the green tag? That changed this week.”
Arthur asked, “Who sent it?”
“Blocked number.”
Claire’s fear hardened into anger.
Somebody wanted them to know the drive had been taken.
That meant intimidation, not cleanup.
Which meant the person believed there might be another copy.
Claire looked at Madison. “Is there?”
Madison stared back.
Arthur turned. “Madison?”
She sat down slowly.
“I emailed pieces of it to myself.”
“Pieces?”
“Screenshots. Invoices. A spreadsheet.”
“To your personal email?”
“No. Ethan checked that.”
“Then where?”
Madison gave a weak smile. “My mother’s old AOL account.”
Nora actually blinked. “You’re serious?”
“My mother died four years ago. I never closed it.”
Arthur pointed toward a secure laptop. “Log in.”
Madison did.
The inbox looked untouched since 2022.
She opened a folder titled RECIPES.
Inside were twenty-seven messages sent over eleven months.
Each had an attachment.
Claire watched the first spreadsheet open.
Column after column listed vendor names, transfers, dates, approval codes, and initials.
E.C.
M.C.
R.B.
Claire pointed to M.C. “Martin Cole?”
Madison nodded reluctantly. “I assumed so.”
Arthur scrolled lower.
One transaction was different.
$4,750,000 transferred from a Meridian escrow account to Westbridge Advisory.
The authorization field showed Claire’s initials.
C.C.
She leaned closer.
The approval timestamp was 11:43 p.m. on March 14.
Claire remembered that date.
She had been in a hospital in Boston with her mother.
Arthur knew it too.
“That is impossible,” he said.
Madison opened the attached PDF.
Claire’s digital certificate appeared at the bottom.
Not just a copied signature.
Her actual corporate authentication token had been used.
Claire whispered, “Ethan couldn’t access that.”
Nora looked up. “Who could?”
Claire felt cold.
“Only me,” she said, “and the person who set it up for me.”
Arthur’s face changed.
“Who was that?”
May you like
Claire answered slowly.
“Martin.”
