Chapter 13 - THE CONFESSION NO ONE EXPECTED|
The man caught in the archive identified himself as Nathan Pike.
He claimed he had been hired through a temporary maintenance agency and paid to retrieve a storage device from the estate. He insisted he did not know what the device contained.
Cross and the investigators preserved his phone, access badge, and payment records. Under questioning, Pike admitted that he had received instructions through an encrypted messaging service.
He did not know the sender's identity.
But he remembered a voice.
"Male?" James asked during the interview.
"Yes."
"Did you recognize it?"
Pike hesitated.
"I think so."
"From where?"
"Television. Interviews. Business events. I don't know."
Maya sat across the room, listening.
"Did the person mention Blackbridge?"
Pike looked at her.
"No."
"Did he mention Halloran Whitmore?"
A pause.
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
Pike rubbed his hands together.
"He said the drive could ruin people who had nothing to do with the original deal. He told me I was helping prevent a disaster."
James's expression hardened.
"Did you believe him?"
"I needed the money."
"That's not what I asked."
Pike lowered his eyes.
"No. Not really."
The investigators continued the interview. They did not promise leniency, but they explained that cooperation and truthful disclosure would be documented.
Eventually, Pike provided the name of the temporary agency and the account through which he had been paid.
The account led to a consulting company connected to Daniel Voss.
It was another link, but not proof that Voss had ordered the break-in.
Maya knew better than to leap to conclusions.
"Can we trace the payment to an individual?" she asked Cross.
"Not yet."
"Then keep going."
Later that afternoon, a second surprise arrived.
Lawrence Fenn requested a meeting with James.
He had spent two days under supervision and appeared older than he had in the foyer. His suit was wrinkled, and his usual polished expression had disappeared.
"I want to cooperate," Fenn said.
James remained standing.
"Why now?"
"Because Voss won't protect me."
"You've spoken to him?"
"Not directly. But I received a message through an intermediary. It said I should accept responsibility for the necklace and the listening device, and nobody else would be harmed."
Maya's eyes narrowed.
"They want you to take the blame for everything."
Fenn looked at her.
"Yes."
"Did you plant the necklace?"
He hesitated.
"Yes."
"Did you install the listening device?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Fenn looked toward James.
"Voss said he needed to know what you were planning. He said you had become unpredictable since your father's death."
"Why frame Maya?"
"Because she was asking questions. He told me she had been sent to steal documents."
Maya felt anger rise.
"You knew that was a lie."
Fenn looked down.
"I suspected it."
"Yet you did it anyway."
"Yes."
His answer was so quiet that it sounded like a confession to himself.
James's expression remained cold.
"Did Voss tell you to sabotage the security system?"
"No. I don't know who did that."
"Did he tell you to retrieve the drive?"
"No."
Fenn looked at Maya.
"But I know who created the original story about her."
The room became still.
"Who?" James asked.
Fenn swallowed.
"Peter Sloan. He worked with Voss at Halloran Whitmore. Sloan was the one who claimed Maya had altered the audit logs. He told me she was dangerous and that she would eventually come after the Kang family."
Maya stared at him.
"Sloan was involved in the original investigation?"
"Yes. Voss arranged for him to consult on our internal security review."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because I was afraid."
Maya's voice hardened.
"You were afraid of losing your position, so you tried to destroy mine."
Fenn flinched.
"I know."
"No, you know what it cost you. You don't know what it cost me."
For the first time, Fenn had no defense.
James called the investigators back into the room and documented the confession.
Fenn's cooperation might help establish what happened, but it did not erase his role in framing Maya.
As he was escorted away, he turned toward her.
"I'm sorry."
Maya watched him leave.
She had imagined hearing those words for two years.
They did not heal anything.
But they confirmed something she had almost forgotten.
The truth could be delayed.
It could be buried.
May you like
It could be attacked.
But sometimes, eventually, even a frightened man found himself unable to keep carrying a lie.
