Chapter 10 - Two Sets of NumbersLeah Torres arrived at Daniel's office carrying a canvas bag and looking as though she hadn't slept in days.
She had worked at Mercer Harbor Holdings for two years.
Quiet, meticulous, and rarely noticed by senior management, she was exactly the kind of employee Adrian had assumed would never question him.
Daniel offered her a seat.
Rebecca Shaw joined them.
Olivia closed the conference room door.
Leah remained standing.
"Before I say anything, I need to know whether I'm going to lose my job."
Daniel looked at her.
"I can't promise what any investigation will conclude, but you will not be punished by me for reporting concerns in good faith."
Leah finally sat.
She placed a notebook on the table.
"I found the problem because a payment wouldn't reconcile."
Rebecca leaned forward.
"Which payment?"
"An eighty-two-thousand-dollar Northstar invoice. It appeared in the company system as a pending safety expense, but the charitable fund's records showed a related reimbursement request."
Daniel frowned.
"Wouldn't that be normal if the fund shared costs?"
"It could be," Leah said. "But the supporting schedules described the same work as though each entity had independently purchased it."
Rebecca nodded slowly.
"Duplicate expense representations."
"Yes."
Leah opened her notebook.
"The internal accounting system showed vendor payments, but Adrian's department also maintained a separate spreadsheet used for management reporting. The descriptions and allocations didn't match."
"Are you saying there were two accounting systems?" Daniel asked.
"One accounting system and one unofficial reporting file. The second file changed how expenses were described. I don't know whether it was ever sent to lenders or donors."
Rebecca wrote something down.
"Do you have the original records?"
"The company still has them. I haven't taken confidential customer information home. I preserved the transaction IDs and the messages I received directing me to change descriptions."
Daniel studied her.
"Who sent those instructions?"
"Adrian."
The room became very quiet.
Leah continued.
"At first, I thought it was a normal reclassification. Then I noticed Brightwater received money shortly after Northstar was paid."
"How much?"
"Across the transactions I reviewed, just over two hundred thousand dollars."
"Who owns Brightwater?"
"I don't know. I couldn't find a legitimate project manager or evidence of the work."
Rebecca raised a hand.
"Let's be careful. We need to verify ownership and payments from original records."
Leah nodded.
"I understand."
Daniel looked at her notebook.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Leah's eyes filled.
"Because Adrian told us you personally approved everything."
Daniel felt the familiar weight of his own absence.
"And you believed him."
"Everyone did."
After Leah left, Daniel called Adrian into the boardroom.
This time, there were no polite greetings.
"Leah has raised concerns about duplicate invoices," Daniel said.
Adrian sat slowly.
"Junior employees often misunderstand how intercompany allocations work."
"Then explain them to the auditors."
"I already have."
"Not adequately."
Adrian looked at Rebecca.
"Is this an accusation of fraud?"
Rebecca answered calmly.
"It's a request for supporting evidence. We are examining whether recorded services, approvals, and transfers match actual work."
Adrian turned back to Daniel.
"You know how much responsibility I've carried for you."
"I do."
"I kept this company alive during your wife's illness."
Daniel flinched.
Adrian continued.
"While you were at hospitals, I was here negotiating extensions and keeping contractors paid."
"That's true."
"Then show me some trust."
Daniel studied the man who had stood beside him for sixteen years.
"I trusted you with things I should have checked."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"That's convenient."
"No. It's shameful. But it doesn't remove your responsibility to answer."
Adrian rose.
"I want counsel present before further questions."
"That's your right," Daniel said.
Rebecca closed her notebook.
"We'll direct future requests through the proper channels."
Adrian walked out without another word.
Meanwhile, Emma met Maya at a café across town.
Maya had contacted the aquatic staffing agency demanding preservation of the termination records and asking for the factual basis of the allegation against Emma.
The agency had replied that it was reviewing the incident.
Emma looked exhausted.
"Even if they reinstate me, what happens when I apply for another job?"
Maya stirred her coffee.
"That depends on how the complaint is resolved. We're going to insist that they correct any false record."
"They didn't even watch the video before removing me."
"I know."
Emma looked through the window.
A little girl in a yellow dress was walking with her father.
For a moment, Emma thought of Lucy.
"She was so frightened," Emma whispered.
Maya watched her.
"Are you thinking about going back?"
"I don't know."
"You don't owe that family anything."
Emma nodded.
But it wasn't Daniel she was thinking about.
It was Lucy waiting for someone to tell her that the water could be safe again.
Emma's phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
Rachel isn't the only person who wanted you removed.
Emma stared at it.
A second message arrived.
Ask who approved the revised inspection report before the pool incident.
This time, the sender attached an internal email header.
May you like
The approval had come from Adrian Vale.
On the Thursday before Lucy almost fell.
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