Chapter 4 - The Midnight Discovery
The clock in Adrian’s private penthouse study chimed 3:45 AM.
Empty espresso cups littered the corner of the expansive mahogany desk. Mara had kicked off her heels hours ago, sitting cross-legged on the plush leather chair with her silk skirts bunched around her knees and her glasses perched on her nose. Adrian sat beside her, sleeves rolled to his elbows, reviewing paper bank statements while Mara flew across two laptop screens.
“Found it,” Mara whispered, her fingers pausing over the illuminated keyboard.
Adrian stood up and leaned over her shoulder, resting one forearm on the back of her chair. The intoxicating scent of his sandalwood cologne and crisp cedar enveloped her, making her heart pound an erratic rhythm that had nothing to do with numbers.
“Look at this hash code,” Mara pointed to a string of encrypted data. “Three weeks ago, someone accessed the central foundation reserves via an internal IP address routed through the penthouse maintenance corridor. They authorized a phantom wire transfer of fourteen million dollars into an offshore escrow account in the Cayman Islands under the name ‘A. Moretti.’”
“They used my credentials,” Adrian growled, his jaw tightening dangerously.
“Yes, but the idiot who did it forgot one critical detail,” Mara said, a triumphant smirk curving her lips. “The server logs record the biometric key used to bypass the second-tier firewall. Adrian, did you swipe your thumbprint in the Sterling House basement server vault on October 14th at 2:15 in the morning?”
“I was in London closing the maritime logistics acquisition on the fourteenth,” Adrian said, his eyes narrowing to slits. “Gus has my travel itinerary, boarding passes, and the British hotel surveillance footage.”
“Then who has your physical duplicate authorization?”
Adrian went completely still. A shadow of profound hurt crossed his face, instantly replaced by ice. “Victoria. My cousin’s wife. She was my executive assistant five years ago before she married Derek. She still had emergency security clearances from the old estate archives.”
Before Mara could reply, her phone buzzed on the desk. The caller ID flashed: Briar Glen Care Center - Night Supervisor.
Panic spiked through her veins like ice water. She lunged for the phone, pressing it to her ear. “Hello? Is this about my mother?”
“Miss Bennett, I am so sorry to disturb you so late,” a hurried nurse’s voice sounded over the line. “Your mother had a sudden severe agitation episode an hour ago. She woke up disoriented, convinced people were breaking into her home. Her vitals spiked dangerously, and she’s asking for you. She won’t let the doctor administer her calming medication until she sees you.”
Mara felt the floor drop out from beneath her feet. Tears sprang to her eyes. “I’m coming. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
She hung up, her hands trembling violently as she reached for her shoes. “Adrian, I have to go. My mom… she’s having an episode. I need to get an Uber immediately.”
“Gus is sleeping in the guest suite; I’ll drive you myself,” Adrian commanded, grabbing his coat without hesitation.
“Adrian, you have the most important corporate board battle of your life tomorrow afternoon! You can’t waste time driving across the county to a nursing home!”
May you like
Adrian took both of her shaking hands into his large, steady grip, pulling her upward until she was forced to look directly into his fierce, resolute eyes.
“Numbers can wait, Mara. People you love cannot. Let’s go.”
