Chapter 5 - The Phone in Brad's Desk
The police weren't called that night.
Francis advised against turning a corporate dispute into public chaos until we understood exactly what had happened.
But Keystone's cybersecurity team was called.
So was the bank.
Every financial credential associated with Daniel was suspended.
Brad's accounts were flagged for review.
The Sen security footage was preserved.
By midnight, the celebration dinner had become a forensic investigation.
Diane left without saying goodbye.
Whitney refused to leave with Brad.
Daniel and I drove home separately.
I sat in my car outside our house for twenty minutes before going inside.
The porch light was on.
It had always been Daniel's habit to leave it burning when I worked late.
That tiny familiar detail almost broke me.
Inside, he was sitting at the kitchen table.
His tie was gone.
His sleeves were rolled up.
For a moment, he looked like the young man who once helped me build Keystone.
“Athena.”
I placed my handbag on the counter.
“Don't.”
He nodded.
“I deserve that.”
I hated the phrase.
Deserve had nothing to do with it.
“I need truth.”
“You'll have it.”
“All of it.”
“Yes.”
I sat across from him.
“When did you first know about Brad's plan?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“What did he tell you?”
“That he wanted to create a sister company focusing on operations consulting.”
“Using Keystone's intellectual property?”
“He said we'd license it.”
“Did I approve that?”
“No.”
“Then why did you continue the conversation?”
Daniel stared at his hands.
“Because I was angry.”
That surprised me.
“At me?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
He laughed bitterly.
“For being better at everything.”
I said nothing.
He looked up.
“You built Keystone. Everyone who actually works there knows it. Every major client knows it. Every vendor knows it.”
“Your family apparently didn't.”
“Because I lied.”
The directness stunned me.
“I never sat them down and invented a story,” he continued. “But every time Mom gave me credit, I let her. Every time somebody assumed I owned Keystone, I didn't correct them.”
“Why?”
“Because I liked how it felt.”
There it was.
Not confusion.
Not family pressure.
Ego.
“Then Brad started telling me that I should have more control.”
“And you agreed.”
“At first.”
My throat tightened.
“He said we could restructure before Howerin closed. That your eighty-two percent made investors nervous.”
“Which investors?”
Daniel's silence answered.
“None.”
“No.”
I almost smiled.
“That should have been obvious.”
“I know.”
“When did you realize?”
“Three days ago.”
“What happened?”
“Brad wanted me to sign something.”
Daniel retrieved papers from a drawer.
A membership restructuring proposal.
If signed, it would have allowed Keystone Operations Holdings to acquire certain assets from Keystone Hospitality Group.
For $100.
I stared at him.
“You were going to transfer company assets for one hundred dollars?”
“I didn't sign it.”
“But you considered it.”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
That hurt almost as much as the group chat.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because telling you meant admitting how far I'd let it go.”
I looked at him.
“And tonight?”
“I had no idea about the transfer.”
I believed him.
Not because he deserved belief.
Because his failures had a pattern.
Cowardice.
Vanity.
Avoidance.
Not sophisticated theft.
Brad was different.
My phone rang.
Francis.
“Athena, we found something.”
“I'm listening.”
“Daniel's old phone was still registered as a trusted device on the bank account.”
Daniel covered his face.
I closed my eyes.
“How?”
“Device authorization was never revoked when he upgraded.”
“Can Brad access it?”
“If he has Daniel's old passcode.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Did he?”
Daniel went pale.
“We used to have the same code for our gym lockers.”
My stomach turned.
Francis continued.
“There's more.”
There always was.
“Someone used Daniel's old device to access Keystone's cloud storage eleven times in the past month.”
“What did they download?”
“Contracts. Vendor files. Employee compensation. Howerin drafts.”
I stood.
“Howerin?”
“Yes.”
That was catastrophic.
Confidentiality provisions covered those documents.
If Howerin discovered they had been accessed improperly, the entire deal could collapse.
“When?”
“Latest download was yesterday.”
I looked at Daniel.
He looked sick.
Francis lowered her voice.
“Athena, we need the phone.”
Whitney had already agreed to retrieve it from Brad's office if she could do so legally.
But at 1:12 a.m., she called Daniel crying.
Brad had emptied his desk.
The phone was gone.
So was his laptop.
And according to the building concierge, he had left carrying a suitcase.
At 1:40, another alert arrived.
Brad had booked a morning flight.
Destination:
Atlanta.
The same city where Howerin Hotel Group was headquartered.
And suddenly I knew exactly what he planned to do.
May you like
If Brad couldn't steal Keystone from me, he was going to destroy the deal that made Keystone more valuable.
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