Chapter 4 - The Man Everyone Trusted
Martin Bellamy arrived at Naomi’s office carrying a leather portfolio and the expression of a man attending an unfortunate family emergency.
He hugged Victoria before she could step back.
Daniel noticed that.
The familiarity. The confidence. The assumption that any room containing Victoria already belonged partly to him.
“I’m sorry this happened over Christmas,” Martin said.
Naomi indicated a chair.
“We’re reviewing financial irregularities. Please answer the questions directly.”
Martin smiled.
“Of course.”
He placed three invoices on the table.
Daniel recognized the false signatures.
“What concerns me,” Martin said, “is that Mr. Carter had access to the mechanical systems, vendor history, and approval forms.”
“I also know we didn’t replace those systems,” Daniel replied.
“Which would make you well positioned to conceal that.”
Victoria spoke before Daniel could.
“Who created the North Lake payment instructions?”
“Our accounts payable team.”
“Who approved changes to the bank details?”
“I would have to check.”
“Please do.”
Martin’s smile thinned.
Naomi asked whether he knew Harbor Community Services.
He paused for less than a second.
“An assistance contractor.”
“What services?”
“Grant administration.”
“Who selected it?”
“I believe the foundation committee.”
“Which meeting?”
“I don’t carry twelve years of minutes in my head.”
“No,” Naomi said. “But the company retains them.”
The meeting ended without an accusation.
That frustrated Daniel until Naomi explained afterward.
“We preserve evidence before we give someone a map of everything we know.”
By evening, Martin had been placed on paid administrative leave, with his system access suspended under board-approved procedures. The outside investigators continued working from preserved copies.
Daniel’s badge remained suspended too.
Victoria delivered that news herself.
“For how long?”
“Until the independent review clears the purchasing records.”
“You believe me.”
“Yes.”
“But I’m still locked out.”
“Yes.”
He walked to the window.
Below them, traffic crept through dirty snow.
“I know what people will think.”
“I’ll make sure you remain paid.”
“That isn’t the only thing I’m worried about.”
“I know.”
He turned.
“Do you?”
Victoria accepted the question.
“Maybe not enough.”
By the following afternoon, employees were whispering.
Someone had anonymously emailed several department heads claiming Daniel had manipulated a grieving executive into covering up theft.
The message mentioned Christmas dinner.
That detail made his skin crawl.
Lily noticed his mood before bedtime.
“Did your boss get mad because our cookies were hard?”
“No, sweetheart.”
“Because you can tell her they’re supposed to be crunchy.”
Daniel sat beside her.
“Some people at work are saying things that aren’t true.”
“About you?”
“Yes.”
She considered that with painful seriousness.
“Did you tell them the true thing?”
“I’m trying.”
“Then keep doing that.”
After she fell asleep, Daniel found Victoria waiting on the porch.
He opened the door only halfway.
“How did they know you came here?”
“I told Martin I had Christmas plans when he called that afternoon. He asked where.”
Daniel stared.
“You told him?”
“I trusted him.”
The answer was quiet.
He stepped aside.
Victoria entered carrying a folder, not flowers or expensive apologies.
“These are the grant applications we’ve confirmed were falsely marked as paid.”
Daniel opened it.
A banquet server whose son needed surgery.
A housekeeper facing eviction.
An overnight security guard who had requested funeral assistance.
Names he knew.
People he passed in hallways.
“This is why I came,” Victoria said. “You deserve to know this is larger than your signature.”
He looked at Rachel’s application.
“Larger doesn’t make hers smaller.”
“No.”
She sat at the kitchen table.
“I failed to supervise something I promised would help people. I can explain how I got there. I can’t make that an excuse.”
Daniel wanted a villain he could hate without complication.
Instead, he had a thief somewhere beyond his reach and a woman in his kitchen who looked ready to accept blame for everything.
His phone rang.
The caller was Ruth Alvarez, the hotel’s payroll manager.
Her voice shook.
“Daniel, I need to speak to your lawyer.”
“Why?”
“Because I know who sent that first message.”
He glanced at Victoria.
May you like
Ruth swallowed audibly.
“It was me.”
