Chapter 6 - The Locked Study
The next morning, Ethan summoned Maggie to his private study—a cavernous, wood-paneled room lined with rare leather-bound books and secured by a heavy digital keypad. Ethan sat behind a massive mahogany desk, reviewing financial folios with a furrowed brow. "Miss Collins, with Diane gone, the household administration is in chaos. More importantly, certain administrative files pertaining to my corporate holdings are missing from my digital server."
"Missing, sir?" Maggie asked, stepping cautiously onto the Persian rug. "Yes. Unauthorized access. Someone has been siphoning operational funds from Vale Maritime Logistics while simultaneously altering ledger entries to make it look like normal overhead expenses," Ethan explained, his gray eyes flashing with cold anger. "For months, I assumed my chief financial officer, Julian Vance, was handling the internal audits. But looking closer at the physical archives left in the safe, I believe the rot extends much deeper—right inside this house."
Maggie looked around the grand study, noting the heavy mahogany filing cabinets and the safe built into the eastern wall. "Do you suspect Diane?" "Diane was a housekeeper, not a certified accountant," Ethan replied grimly. "She didn't possess the clearance to alter corporate ledgers. But she knew everyone who did. I need someone completely outside my corporate circle to go through the physical paper records dating back five years. Will you help me, Maggie?"
