Chapter 3 - The Man in the Garden
Daniel refused to speak to police.
He refused to explain why he had entered Michael’s home.
And he demanded an attorney before answering a single question.
Michael learned all of that while sitting beside Mason outside Emily’s recovery room.
Thomas sent photographs from the house.
The study drawers had been pulled open.
The office safe had been searched.
The antique clock stood with its hidden panel exposed.
But the most disturbing photograph was of the security recorder.
Someone had removed the internal drive.
Michael immediately called Thomas.
“Daniel took the recorder?”
“We don’t know.”
“Check his car.”
“Police already did.”
“And?”
“No drive.”
Michael looked toward Emily’s room.
“Then Sophia has it.”
“That would be my guess.”
Michael rubbed his forehead.
“Bring me the flash drive.”
Thomas hesitated.
“There’s another problem.”
Michael’s stomach tightened.
“What now?”
“Daniel wasn’t working alone.”
“How do you know?”
Thomas sent another image.
Michael opened it.
A muddy shoeprint covered the polished floor beneath the study window.
Then another.
Two different tread patterns.
One larger.
One significantly smaller.
Michael whispered the name before Thomas could.
“Sophia.”
“Possibly.”
Michael looked at the time.
10:46 PM.
The message on Sophia’s phone had said midnight.
They had seventy-four minutes.
“What happens at midnight?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
Michael thought of Daniel.
Carter Dynamics was scheduled to close a major acquisition the following morning.
The deal involved Northbridge Medical Technologies.
It was worth nearly six hundred million dollars.
Daniel controlled the transaction files.
Michael’s blood ran cold.
“Check Northbridge.”
“For what?”
“Everything.”
Thomas understood immediately.
“I’ll call our legal team.”
“No.”
Michael lowered his voice.
“Don’t call anyone inside the company yet.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel is my CFO.”
Michael stared through the window toward Emily.
“If he’s involved, I don’t know who else is.”
Thomas went silent.
Then Michael’s phone beeped.
Unknown number.
One image.
Emily walking through Carter Dynamics’ underground parking garage three days earlier.
A second image arrived.
Emily handing an envelope to a woman Michael recognized.
Federal investigator Allison Reed.
Then a message appeared.
ASK YOUR WIFE WHY THE FBI IS INVESTIGATING YOU.
Michael stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
MIDNIGHT.
TELL EMILY TO GIVE US THE FOLDER.
OR YOU WILL BE ARRESTED BEFORE YOUR SON LEAVES THE NICU.
Michael’s hands began to shake.
Mason looked up.
“Dad?”
Michael locked the screen.
“It’s okay.”
Mason shook his head.
“No, it isn’t.”
Michael looked at his son.
For once, he did not lie.
“You’re right.”
At 11:02, Emily’s nurse stepped into the hallway.
“She’s awake.”
Michael stood.
“Can I see her?”
The nurse hesitated.
“She asked for Mason.”
Michael nodded.
“And me?”
The nurse’s expression told him the answer.
“No.”
Michael looked down.
He deserved that too.
Mason entered the room.
Michael remained outside.
Five minutes later, the nurse returned.
“Mrs. Carter says you may come in.”
Michael entered slowly.
Emily looked painfully small beneath the hospital blanket.
Her face was pale.
A purple mark was beginning to form where he had slapped her.
Michael stopped when he saw it.
Emily noticed.
“Now you see it.”
His voice broke.
“Emily.”
“Don’t apologize yet.”
Michael stared at her.
She gestured toward the chair.
“Sit down.”
He obeyed.
Emily looked at Mason.
“Sweetheart, can you ask the nurse for some water?”
Mason hesitated.
“I’ll be right outside.”
He left.
Emily waited until the door closed.
Then she looked directly at her husband.
“What did Sophia take from the house?”
Michael swallowed.
“The red folder is gone.”
Emily’s expression changed immediately.
“How?”
“She may have taken it before the ambulance arrived.”
Emily closed her eyes.
Michael leaned closer.
“What is inside it?”
Emily opened them again.
“Proof.”
“Of what?”
“That somebody inside Carter Dynamics has been stealing millions of dollars.”
Michael stared at her.
“Daniel?”
Emily shook her head.
“Daniel is part of it.”
“Who else?”
Emily’s voice dropped.
“I don’t know.”
Michael frowned.
“You went to the FBI.”
She did not deny it.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I found evidence that every time I tried to warn you, someone inside our house knew.”
Michael’s breath caught.
Emily looked toward the door.
“The first person I suspected wasn’t Daniel.”
Michael felt cold.
“Who?”
May you like
Emily stared at him.
“Your sister.”
