Chapter 6 - The Camera That Went DarkThe next morning, Daniel printed the security system's activity log.
He placed it on the kitchen table before Vivian arrived for breakfast.
Lily was upstairs with her longtime babysitter, Elise Moreno, who had returned to work after the weekend.
Daniel had arranged the morning deliberately.
He wanted to speak to Vivian without his daughter hearing.
Vivian entered wearing a cream blouse and dark trousers.
She poured herself coffee.
“You look terrible,” she observed.
“I didn't sleep.”
“You should take a day off.”
“Why did you turn off the foyer camera on Friday?”
The coffee cup stopped halfway to her mouth.
For a fraction of a second, her face became perfectly still.
Then she lowered it.
“What?”
Daniel pushed the printed log across the table.
“At 4:59, your administrator account disabled the camera. At 5:07, it was restored.”
Vivian glanced at the page.
“I don't remember doing that.”
“The system recorded your account.”
“That doesn't mean I was personally using it.”
“Who else has your password?”
She sat down.
“Daniel, what exactly are you accusing me of?”
“I'm asking a question.”
“And I'm telling you I don't remember.”
Daniel watched her.
He had known his sister for forty years.
When they were children, Vivian could explain away a broken vase, a missing library book, or a forbidden midnight trip into the garden with effortless confidence.
Their mother had called it quick thinking.
Their father had called it charm.
Daniel had never imagined that talent could become something dangerous.
“Lily says you placed her doll by the fireplace.”
Vivian stared at him.
“She's four.”
“I know how old my daughter is.”
“Children misunderstand things.”
“She says you told her to hurry.”
“She wanted the doll.”
“Why was it there?”
Vivian's jaw tightened.
“Are you going to believe a confused child over your own sister?”
Daniel felt anger rise.
Then he remembered Sarah's warning.
Preserve evidence instead of choosing an explanation.
“I'm not deciding what happened yet.”
“Apparently you already have.”
“I want you to stay away from Lily unless I'm present until I understand what happened.”
Vivian slowly stood.
“You can't be serious.”
“I'm very serious.”
“I raised that child while you were grieving.”
“You helped care for her.”
“I held her when she cried for Claire. I stayed awake when she had fevers. I canceled business trips because you couldn't get out of bed.”
Daniel looked down.
Each statement was true.
That was what made the conversation so painful.
“I know what you did for us.”
“Then how can you treat me like this?”
“Because gratitude doesn't mean I stop protecting my daughter.”
Vivian's eyes filled with tears.
Whether they were sincere, Daniel couldn't tell.
She left without drinking her coffee.
Later that afternoon, Daniel visited the company office again.
He told Sophie to preserve the Northstar records and avoid discussing the review with anybody whose access was under examination.
He had no desire to make her part of a family dispute.
But he needed a clean record.
Sophie brought him a second file.
It contained monthly summaries for the Hearth Foundation, the nonprofit organization Margaret Ellison had funded to support safe, affordable housing.
Margaret had left a fourteen-million-dollar capital reserve, protected by restrictions governing its use.
The Foundation could spend designated funds on maintenance and improvements serving its housing mission.
It could not simply distribute those funds to the Ellison family.
Yet the reports showed substantial disbursements to Northstar Compliance over the previous thirty months.
Daniel counted the payment entries.
There were forty-one.
The combined amount was approximately $2.4 million.
He stared at the number.
For a property like Bellwether Court, major fire-safety modernization could be expensive.
But he had never seen a completed project report that justified spending at that scale.
“Who reviews these?” he asked.
Sophie lowered her voice.
“Ms. Ellison's team prepares the summaries for the Foundation treasurer.”
“Vivian is the treasurer.”
“Yes.”
“And I'm the chairman.”
Sophie didn't respond.
He looked at the accounts.
Every quarter, he had received a summary.
Every quarter, he had skimmed it.
Every quarter, he had allowed his sister to explain the details.
He thought of David standing outside the mansion.
I've been trying to get them to you for over a year.
Daniel felt something hollow open inside him.
That night, Vivian stood in her apartment overlooking the river.
Her private residence was elegant, but smaller than the mansion.
A framed photograph of their mother sat on the mantel.
Vivian looked at it before answering a call from Julian Rusk.
Julian was the principal behind Northstar Compliance.
He had a narrow face, immaculate suits, and a talent for presenting unpaid obligations as urgent opportunities.
“Daniel requested the vendor records,” Julian said.
“I know.”
“He's asking about completion certificates.”
“Then prepare the files.”
“Some of those files won't survive close scrutiny.”
Vivian closed her eyes.
“How much is exposed?”
“Enough.”
“Don't be dramatic.”
“Your brother is asking why Mercer appears on certificates after his termination.”
Vivian gripped the phone.
“Can you explain it as a database migration?”
“Maybe. But the dates are a problem.”
She turned toward the window.
Lights moved along the dark river.
Julian continued.
“We need the Crown Harbor deal approved before they finish digging.”
“Thomas is still listening.”
“And Daniel?”
“He's becoming difficult.”
Julian's voice hardened.
“The money has already moved, Vivian.”
“I know where the money went.”
“Then you know what happens if somebody starts tracing it.”
Vivian disconnected.
On her coffee table lay David Mercer's missing authorization page.
She unfolded it.
Across the bottom was a completion certification attributed to David.
Dated six months after his employment ended.
Next to it was a scanned approval from Daniel.
Two signatures.
One impossible.
The other attached to an authorization Daniel had never knowingly approved.
Vivian held the paper over a small wastebasket.
She considered burning it.
Then she stopped.
Destroying one copy would not matter if David had kept another.
May you like
She returned it to her purse.
And began looking for a way to make sure nobody believed him.
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