Chapter 5 - The Signature That Shouldn't Exist
Evelyn pulled me aside.
“Look.”
Inside the file was an email printout attached to an employee complaint.
At first, it seemed unrelated.
Then I saw the signature.
Richard Vale.
The email instructed a Blackwood procurement employee to provide confidential pricing information before the partnership had been approved.
Richard approached.
“What is that?”
Evelyn closed the folder.
“A matter for Monday.”
His expression told me enough.
“You've seen it before,” I said.
“No.”
“You reacted before you could read it.”
Richard glanced toward Vanessa.
That was another mistake.
Vanessa saw him.
“So this is your problem now?”
“Vanessa, stop talking.”
“What did you do?”
“Stop.”
She stared.
Then laughed.
“You idiot.”
Richard's face hardened.
“What?”
“I told you not to use company email.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Richard realized what she had said.
Vanessa realized it one second later.
Her hand covered her mouth.
Evelyn quietly said, “Thank you.”
Vanessa backed away.
“No. That's not what I meant.”
Nobody needed to argue with her.
The phones had recorded it.
My father turned toward security.
“Preserve every relevant recording.”
Richard stepped forward.
“Alexander, this is getting out of control.”
“No,” my father replied. “For the first time tonight, it's under control.”
Richard's shoulders dropped.
The glamorous gala had become a disaster for two people who had entered believing they owned the room.
But I felt no triumph.
Something else bothered me.
The employee who had filed that complaint was no longer working at Blackwood Grand.
Her name was Elena Torres.
Termination reason: repeated performance issues.
Supervisor recommendation: immediate dismissal.
Yet her personnel reviews before the complaint were excellent.
Someone had punished her.
May you like
And I intended to discover who.
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