Chapter 5: The Assistant Who Kept a Copy
John lunged for the laptop, but Lucy stepped behind Eleanor.
“Give me that,” he said.
“No.”
“You signed a confidentiality agreement.”
“I didn’t sign an agreement to take the blame for you.”
Vanessa pointed toward the elevator.
“Get out before I have security remove you.”
Lucy’s fingers tightened around the laptop.
“You told me Daniel had approved everything.”
“He did.”
“No, Vanessa.
You gave me scans of his signature and told me to place them on the forms.”
“That is not what happened.”
Lucy opened a folder on the screen.
“I saved your messages.”
John’s voice dropped.
“Delete them, and I’ll pay you six months’ salary.”
Everyone heard him.
Lucy stared at him.
“You dismissed me this morning.”
“I can reverse that.”
“You dismissed me because I asked why Eleanor’s house money was passing through a vendor account.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“She’s bitter.
None of this proves anything.”
Lucy clicked an audio file.
Vanessa’s recorded voice filled the penthouse.
“Use Daniel’s signature from the insurance form.
Nobody checks board approvals once John signs off.”
Vanessa rushed forward and slammed the laptop shut.
“That recording is illegal!”
Lucy did not move.
“You held the meeting in my office and ordered me to take notes.”
John grabbed Vanessa’s wrist.
“Stop helping them.”
She pulled away.
“This was your plan!”
“My plan?
You came to me.”
“You said Daniel would never notice.”
“You said your mother would be overseas for six months.”
Eleanor’s shoulders sagged.
I put my arm around her.
“Sit down.”
“No.” She looked directly at Vanessa.
“I want to hear my daughter finish.”
Vanessa’s expression flickered, but John stepped between them.
“We’re done here.”
A building security officer appeared near the elevator.
“Mr.
Mercer,” he said, “the penthouse manager asked me to respond to a disturbance.”
John pointed at Lucy.
“She has company property.
Take the laptop.”
“It’s mine,” Lucy said.
“Check the serial number.”
Vanessa pointed at me.
“Daniel took my phone and threatened us.”
“I saw what happened,” Eleanor said.
“He did neither.”
The officer looked around the silent room.
“Mr.
Hale, return the phone.”
I set it on the table.
Vanessa snatched it and began typing.
“What are you doing?” John asked.
“Protecting myself.”
Lucy reopened her laptop.
Her face drained of color.
“She’s accessing the company server.”
John reached for Vanessa’s phone.
“Cancel it.”
“You said the backup had to disappear.”
“Not from here!”
Vanessa pushed him away and pressed the screen.
Lucy spun the laptop toward me.
A progress bar moved across the display.
REMOTE ARCHIVE DELETION: 48%.
“Can you stop it?” I asked.
“I need administrator access.”
“John has it,” Vanessa said.
“And he’s not giving it to you.”
The security officer blocked the elevator.
“Nobody leaves until this is settled.”
John held up both hands.
“You cannot detain me.”
“I can prevent access to a private elevator until the owner arrives.”
Vanessa smiled at me for the first time since Lucy appeared.
“When that archive is gone, all you’ll have is a frightened assistant and documents with your signature.”
The progress bar reached 72%.
Lucy typed rapidly.
“It’s deleting the messages, transfer logs, and approval history.”
Eleanor gripped the back of a chair.
“There must be another copy.”
“There was,” Lucy said.
“John ordered the server backup disconnected yesterday.”
The bar reached 91%.
Vanessa leaned close to me.
“You should have stayed out of my mother’s affairs.”
The screen flashed.
REMOTE ARCHIVE DELETION COMPLETE.
Vanessa let out a slow breath.
Then Lucy’s phone rang.
She answered and listened without speaking.
“Who is it?” I asked.
Lucy looked at John.
May you like
“The bank’s fraud director,” she said.
“They froze Northstar’s accounts an hour ago—and they found a second transfer scheduled for midnight.”
