Chapter 9 - THE EMPLOYEE WHO DISAPPEARED|
Peter Lawson had always been meticulous.
He dressed neatly, arrived early, and kept his desk organized. When Claire hired him as finance manager, he impressed her by identifying several unnecessary expenses and negotiating better payment terms with vendors.
She had trusted him with the company's accounts.
When he resigned, she had written him a glowing recommendation.
Now she was searching for him.
His former office was empty. His professional profile had been updated to show his new position at Northstar Advisory, but the company website contained almost no information about its operations.
Rebecca's investigator located a business address in a shared office building.
Northstar occupied a single room with no permanent staff listed.
The receptionist said Peter had not been seen for several days.
Claire felt a knot tighten in her stomach.
“Could he have left the company?”
“Possibly,” Rebecca said. “We shouldn't assume that he's hiding. We need to establish his whereabouts through lawful means.”
They sent a formal request for records connected to the disputed documents.
Northstar's attorney responded that Peter was unavailable and that the company disputed any allegation of wrongdoing.
The letter contained no explanation for the use of Claire's credentials.
Meanwhile, the forensic review identified an unusual access pattern in C.W. Atelier's billing system. Someone had logged in after midnight using Peter's former administrator account.
The access originated from a device associated with Northstar's office.
It did not prove Peter had personally used the device, but it established a link that required investigation.
Claire sat with Melissa, her operations director, reviewing the timeline.
“Could anyone else have used his account?”
“Only if they had the credentials or access to the device,” Melissa said.
“Who knew the password?”
“Peter. Me. You. The external IT administrator.”
Claire closed her eyes.
She had believed that disabling the account was enough. The company's security procedures had not been as strong as she thought.
She didn't blame her employees.
She had been responsible for the system, and she needed to fix it.
By the end of the day, all administrator credentials had been reset, access logs preserved, and an independent cybersecurity firm engaged to review the company's systems.
Then Peter called.
His voice sounded strained.
“Claire, I need to talk to you.”
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Then I can't help you.”
He breathed shakily.
“I didn't create the loan guarantee.”
“Did you use my company's credentials?”
“I helped prepare documents. I didn't know what Ethan planned to do with them.”
Claire felt anger rise.
“You knew the documents used my signature.”
“I thought it was an internal draft.”
“You submitted them to a lender.”
“I was told the authorization had already been approved.”
“By whom?”
Peter hesitated.
“Ethan.”
“Did you see the original authorization?”
“No.”
“Then why did you submit it?”
He was silent.
Finally, he whispered, “Because I was afraid of losing my job.”
Claire stared at the wall.
“You risked my company because you were afraid of losing a job?”
“I know how it sounds.”
“No, Peter. You know how it sounds now that you might be caught.”
He began to cry.
“I have copies of the emails. I can prove who gave the instructions.”
“Then give them to your attorney and cooperate with the investigation.”
“Will you protect me?”
“I won't lie for you. But I won't prevent you from telling the truth.”
He gave her an address and asked to meet the following day.
Rebecca advised against meeting him alone. They arranged for Peter to provide the information through his attorney instead.
The documents arrived the next afternoon.
Several emails showed Ethan directing Peter to prepare the consulting agreement. Another instructed him to use an old signature image from a previous proposal.
The messages were troubling, but the legal team still needed to authenticate them and determine whether the instructions had been carried out as written.
One email was particularly revealing.
Ethan had written:
Claire will never challenge this. She trusts me too much.
Claire read the sentence twice.
Then she closed the file.
The man who had once promised to spend his life protecting her had built his plan around the belief that she would never defend herself.
May you like
He had made one final mistake.
He had mistaken love for permanent surrender.
