Chapter 14 - The Trap Inside the Trap
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The note beside Nora's name had been added six weeks before the attack.
It stated that she had accessed financial records outside her assigned department and had copied several transaction files.
That much was true.
The next line was not.
Employee may be attempting to divert funds or prepare a false accusation against senior management.
Nora stared at the words.
"Peter was preparing to discredit me before he attacked me."
Raphael read the note twice.
"Did anyone question you about the access?"
"No. I thought the system had flagged a routine audit."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know there was anything to tell. My access was legitimate. I was reconciling a report you asked me to review."
Raphael closed the file.
"Then he knew you were investigating him."
"Yes."
"And he built a story to make it look as though you were the thief."
Nora leaned back, feeling the old ache in her ribs.
"He wanted the evidence destroyed, and he wanted me blamed for the fraud."
Raphael's jaw tightened.
"He's going to answer for that."
"Through the investigators."
He looked at her.
"Through the investigators," he agreed.
They reviewed the remaining records with Samuel and the legal team. The pattern was increasingly clear: Peter had used delegated access, forged approvals, and false invoices to move money out of the companies. He had then created documents suggesting Raphael had authorized the transfers.
Dominic's role was more complicated. He had disabled the garage's camera transfer system after Peter claimed it was part of a security review. He had not arranged the attack, according to his statement, but he had failed to restore the cameras and had left Nora without assistance when he saw her injured.
His choices had helped conceal the crime.
The investigators were examining whether he had known more than he admitted.
That evening, Raphael received a message from Peter.
You need to stop this before it destroys everything you've built.
Raphael showed Nora.
She read it carefully.
"He's trying to make you afraid of the consequences."
"He's not wrong about the consequences."
"That's why he thinks it will work."
Raphael looked at her.
"What would you do?"
Nora considered the question.
"I'd make sure the evidence couldn't disappear if something happened to either of us."
Within an hour, the legal team had deposited verified copies of the records with independent counsel and the investigators. The company systems were secured, access credentials were revoked, and an external audit began.
Raphael also agreed to provide testimony about the structure of his businesses and the people who had access to the relevant accounts.
It was the most exposed he had ever allowed himself to become.
He knew the investigation could uncover illegal activity unrelated to Peter's scheme. He could no longer control which secrets would emerge or which associates would abandon him.
But he was no longer willing to let fear decide what he did.
The next morning, Nora received a letter at the apartment.
It had no return address.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
You have no idea who you are protecting.
Beneath the sentence was a photograph of Nora's younger brother, Daniel, standing outside a restaurant in Milwaukee.
Nora went cold.
Daniel had left Chicago years earlier after a disagreement with a man who worked for one of Raphael's former associates. He had been living quietly, working as a mechanic, and had no connection to the current investigation.
Raphael immediately contacted the security consultant and the appropriate authorities. They verified that Daniel was safe and arranged for him to be informed without causing unnecessary alarm.
Nora stared at the photograph.
"Peter knows about my family."
Raphael sat beside her.
"Then we make sure your family is protected."
"What if this isn't Peter?"
He looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
She turned the photograph over.
On the back, someone had written a name.
MARCUS BELL.
Raphael's expression changed.
Marcus Bell was not one of Peter's employees.
May you like
He was the man who had introduced Raphael to the financial network that eventually became his legitimate business empire.
And he had been missing for eight months.
