"Your father couldn't handle success. He was emotional. He made decisions based on loyalty instead of numbers."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Then why did you need to frame him?"
Richard stood so quickly that his chair moved backward.
"Watch your mouth."
Daniel did not move.
"Why did you fabricate the reports?"
Richard lowered his voice.
"You have no proof."
"Not yet."
Richard stared at him.
Then he smiled.
"Let me give you some advice. Stop digging. Accept the position you've been given. Enjoy the salary. And don't confuse your father's failures with your own future."
Daniel picked up the photograph.
"My father didn't fail."
He turned toward the door.
Richard's voice followed him.
"You're going to regret this."
Daniel stopped.
"Maybe."
He looked back.
"But at least I won't have to spend the rest of my life hiding from the truth."
CHAPTER 6: THE WOMAN WHO KEPT THE ORIGINAL RECORDS
Margaret Collins had not slept properly in several days.
She knew what Daniel was doing was dangerous.
But she also knew she could no longer pretend that everything was normal.
For sixteen years, she had watched Richard Harrison manipulate the company.
She had witnessed employees being dismissed after asking questions.
She had seen financial reports rewritten.
She had received instructions to approve payments without proper documentation.
At first, she told herself that the decisions were above her authority.
Then she began receiving bonuses.
Then promotions.
Then threats.
Eventually, she became part of the system she had once promised herself she would never tolerate.
But Daniel's arrival changed something.
He reminded her of David Carter.
Not because they looked alike.
They did not.
But they shared the same refusal to accept that dishonesty was simply part of doing business.
One evening, Margaret contacted Daniel through an encrypted messaging account.
She sent him an address.
It belonged to a small storage facility outside the city.
When Daniel arrived, she was waiting beside a gray vehicle.
"Did anyone follow you?" he asked.
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"As sure as I can be."
She unlocked a storage unit.
Inside were several boxes containing old financial documents.
Daniel recognized the company logo immediately.
Sterling International.
Margaret removed a folder.
"These are the original financial statements from eleven years ago."
Daniel opened it.
His hands began to shake.
The documents showed that the money supposedly stolen by David Carter had never entered his personal accounts.
Instead, it had been transferred through a series of temporary holding companies.
The final destination was an account connected to Richard Harrison.
Margaret pointed toward a page.
"Look at the authorization."
Daniel examined the signature.
Richard Harrison.
He turned another page.
There was another signature.
This one belonged to Margaret.
She looked ashamed.
"I approved the transfer because Richard told me it was a temporary restructuring arrangement."
Daniel looked at her.
"Did you know what he was doing?"
"Not at first."
"And later?"
She lowered her eyes.
"Later, I suspected. But by then, I was afraid."
Daniel closed the folder.
"Why didn't you come forward?"
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"Because I was a coward."
Daniel remained silent.
She continued.
"I kept telling myself that I was protecting my family. But every year I stayed silent, I helped him get away with what he did."
Daniel looked at the documents again.
"These records can clear my father's name."
"They can also send me to prison."
He looked at her.
"Then we need to tell the truth and let the investigation determine responsibility."
Margaret nodded.