She forced a small smile.
"Probably nothing. I should get going."
She walked away before he could ask another question.
Daniel looked back at the screen.
Northbridge Advisory.
He had no idea why the name made Emily uncomfortable.
But he knew one thing.
He would not ignore the discrepancy simply because someone important might prefer him to.
At 7:05, he shut down his computer and collected his belongings.
As he stepped into the elevator, his phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
"Some questions are better left unanswered."
Daniel stared at the screen.
He read the message again.
Then the elevator doors opened.
He slipped the phone into his pocket and walked into the evening air.
For the first time in seven years, Sterling Tower no longer felt like an ordinary workplace.
It felt like a place where someone had something to hide.
And Daniel Carter had just begun looking in the wrong direction for the wrong people.
Daniel arrived at Sterling Tower earlier than usual the following morning.
He had slept badly.
The anonymous message had bothered him more than he wanted to admit. He had considered deleting it and pretending it meant nothing, but every time he closed his eyes, he remembered Emily's expression when she saw the name Northbridge Advisory.
There was something she knew.
And whatever it was, she was afraid to discuss it inside the building.
Daniel entered his office, placed his briefcase beneath the desk, and switched on his computer.
Before opening his email, he created a separate working file containing the eleven suspicious transactions from the previous day.
He wanted to establish whether the payments were isolated mistakes or part of a larger pattern.
The first invoice was dated fourteen months earlier.
It described emergency electrical maintenance at a warehouse outside the city.
The second invoice, submitted three weeks later, listed nearly identical work at another facility.
The third described equipment inspections at a location that had supposedly been closed for renovations.
Daniel opened the company's property records.
The warehouse listed in the third invoice had not been operating for six months.
He checked the payment authorization.
Approved by the financial operations department.
The name beneath the approval field was Richard Morgan.
Daniel sat back.
That alone did not prove misconduct. Richard approved hundreds of transactions every month. It was possible that someone else had prepared the paperwork incorrectly.
But the pattern was becoming difficult to dismiss.
Daniel searched for the suppliers' registration information.
Two of the companies shared the same mailing address.
A third had a registered contact number that matched a number listed in an old vendor file belonging to Northbridge Advisory.
He opened the records again.
The connection was becoming clearer.
At 8:30, Emily arrived.
She placed her handbag beneath her desk and glanced toward Daniel.
He waited until she was alone before approaching.
"Emily, do you have a minute?"
She looked nervous.
"Is it about yesterday?"
"Yes. I want to understand why you recognized Northbridge Advisory."
Emily lowered her voice.
"I've processed payment requests involving them before. Usually, the descriptions are vague. Consulting services, operational support, financial review."
"Who requests the payments?"
"Different departments. But most of the approvals come from Richard's office."
"Have you ever seen supporting contracts?"
She hesitated.
"Sometimes. But the attachments are often incomplete."
"Did you report that?"
Emily looked uncomfortable.
"I asked a question once. My supervisor told me that the arrangements were confidential."
Daniel nodded.
"Did you accept that explanation?"
"I didn't have a choice."
He didn't push her.
Instead, he said, "If you remember anything else, please let me know. But don't put yourself at risk."
Emily looked at him with a mixture of gratitude and concern.
"Daniel, I think you should stop."
"Why?"
"Because people have lost their jobs over less."
Before he could answer, Robert Ellis approached.
"Are we having a private meeting?"
Emily immediately returned to her desk.
Daniel looked at Robert.
"Just discussing a report."
Robert smiled.
"Careful. Richard doesn't like people discussing things that aren't their responsibility."
"Then perhaps he should make the responsibilities clearer."
Robert's smile faded.
He walked away.
At 9:15, Daniel received a calendar invitation.
Meeting with Richard Morgan β 10:00 AM.
There was no explanation.
Daniel printed his preliminary findings and entered Richard's office at the scheduled time.
Richard was standing beside the window, looking down at the traffic.
"Sit down, Daniel."
Daniel took the chair opposite him.
Richard remained standing.
"I've been told you've been reviewing supplier transactions."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I found discrepancies."
Richard turned.
"What discrepancies?"
Daniel placed the documents on the desk.
"Several payments were approved for services that may not have been provided. There are also overlapping supplier addresses and incomplete contracts."
Richard glanced at the pages.
"These are routine operational payments."
"Some of them are connected to closed facilities."
"That doesn't mean the work wasn't completed before closure."
"I checked the dates. Several invoices were submitted after the facilities had stopped operating."
Richard's jaw tightened.
"Who authorized you to investigate these suppliers?"
"I was assigned to review the financial records."
"You were assigned to prepare a quarterly summary, not conduct an investigation."
Daniel kept his voice steady.
"Then I recommend that the company conduct an independent review."
Richard placed the papers on the desk.
"Let me make this simple. These transactions have already been approved by senior management. You are not responsible for questioning those approvals."
Daniel looked directly at him.
"Financial records are everyone's responsibility when they contain possible inaccuracies."
Richard stared at him.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Richard walked around the desk and sat down.
"Daniel, I understand that you're ambitious. You want recognition. You want people to notice your work."
"This isn't about recognition."
"Of course it is. People in your position often believe that finding a problem makes them important."
Daniel said nothing.
Richard continued.
"But let me give you some advice. Companies are complicated. Senior management makes decisions based on information you don't have access to. If you challenge every transaction you don't understand, you'll create unnecessary problems."
"Then explain the transactions."
Richard's expression changed.
"You are not in a position to demand explanations from me."
Daniel collected his papers.
"I'm not demanding anything. I'm documenting a concern."
He stood up.
Richard's voice became colder.
"Be careful, Carter. There are consequences for employees who forget their place."
Daniel paused at the door.
"Then I hope the company is equally careful about the consequences of ignoring its financial responsibilities."
He walked out.
Richard remained seated, staring at the closed door.
A minute later, he picked up his phone.
"Victor, it's Richard. We have a situation."
At the other end of the line, Victor Hayes answered.
"What happened?"
"Daniel Carter has started looking at the Northbridge payments."
There was a pause.
"How much does he know?"
"Enough to ask questions."
Victor lowered his voice.
"Then you need to stop him before he finds the old records."
Richard looked toward the door.
"That's what I'm trying to do."
"Don't underestimate him," Victor warned.
Richard gave a short laugh.
"He's an analyst. Nothing more."
But Victor did not laugh.
"You said the same thing about Samuel Carter."
Richard's expression froze.
For the first time that morning, he looked genuinely concerned.
"Don't mention that name over the phone."
He ended the call.
Across the office, Daniel returned to his desk.
He opened a new document and began recording everything that had happened in the meeting.
He included the date, the time, the questions Richard had asked, and the warnings Richard had made.
He saved the document with the other evidence.
Then he searched the company's archived supplier records.
Northbridge Advisory appeared in a file dating back more than twenty years.
Daniel leaned closer to the screen.
The company name was familiar.
But the date was not.