At 2:30 p.m., Richard received an email from the independent audit committee.
The subject line was short.
REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE PRESERVATION OF NORTHSTAR RECORDS.
He opened it.
The committee was requesting access to the complete acquisition archive, including communications involving the chairman's office, the former chief financial officer, and the external advisory firm responsible for the original valuation.
Richard read the request twice.
Then he called Collins.
"We need to find Caroline Hayes."
Collins sighed.
"I've already asked someone to locate her."
"Where is she?"
"She left the company three years ago."
"That doesn't answer my question."
Collins looked uncomfortable.
"She works for a private legal consultancy now."
"Find the address."
An hour later, Richard was sitting in a private restaurant with Caroline Hayes.
She was in her late forties, with short brown hair and a composed expression. She had once managed Richard's calendar, arranged board meetings, and prepared documents for his signature.
He had trusted her with nearly everything.
Now he was beginning to wonder whether that trust had been misplaced.
"Caroline," he began, "I need to ask you about the Northstar acquisition."
She placed her glass on the table.
"I assumed you would."
Richard studied her.
"Do you remember Jonathan Bennett?"
"Of course."
"Did you ever communicate with him directly?"
"Several times."
"About the acquisition?"
"Yes."
Richard leaned forward.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Caroline looked at him.
"I did."
He frowned.
"When?"
"On three separate occasions."
"That's impossible."
Caroline opened her handbag and removed a small folder.
Inside were copies of emails.
She pushed them toward him.
Richard examined the first.
It was dated sixteen months earlier.
The subject line read:
URGENT: NORTHSTAR VALUATION DISCREPANCIES.
The message described concerns raised by Jonathan Bennett regarding the target company's financial position.
Richard looked up.
"I never saw this."
Caroline gave a humorless smile.
"That's what I thought."
He opened the second email.
This one contained a request to postpone the acquisition until the valuation had been independently verified.
The third email was even more troubling.
It contained a warning that the seller had failed to disclose several liabilities.
Richard's hands became cold.
"Who received these?"
Caroline looked directly at him.
"Your office."
"Who else?"
"Edward Collins."
Richard stared at the documents.
"Why didn't you forward them directly to the board?"
"I tried."
"And?"
"My access was removed."
Richard looked up sharply.
"Who removed it?"
Caroline did not answer immediately.
Then she said something that made his stomach tighten.
"Mr. Whitmore, I was told that if I continued asking questions, I would be accused of leaking confidential company information."
"Who told you that?"
Caroline looked down.
"Mr. Collins."
Richard leaned back.
For a moment, he could hear the restaurant's background music but could not process a single note.
"Why didn't you tell me when you resigned?"
"I requested a private meeting with you."
"I don't remember."
"Your assistant said you were unavailable."
Richard shook his head.
"That isn't possible."
Caroline closed the folder.
"I spent twelve years working for you. I knew how you liked your reports organized, which calls you wanted transferred, and which documents needed your signature immediately."
Her voice grew firmer.
"I also knew when something was wrong."
Richard stared at her.
"I didn't know."
Caroline's expression softened slightly.
"Maybe you didn't. But you never asked."
The sentence stayed between them.
Richard finally looked at the documents again.
"Do you still have the original emails?"
"Yes."
"Would you provide them to the investigation?"
Caroline nodded.
"I've already agreed to cooperate with the Bennett Group's legal team."
Richard looked up.
"Victoria contacted you?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Three weeks ago."
Richard felt another wave of shock.
Three weeks.
Victoria had been investigating the Northstar acquisition long before she entered his boardroom.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
Caroline gave him a direct look.
"Perhaps because she believed you were part of the problem."
Richard stood.
"I need copies of everything."
"You can have copies through the proper legal process."
"Caroline, I'm asking you as someone who worked with me for twelve years."
She gathered her belongings.
"And I'm answering you as someone who spent twelve years trying to make sure the company did the right thing."
She stood.
"Please don't ask me to keep quiet again."
Richard watched her leave.
He returned to his office twenty minutes later and found a new message waiting.
It was from Collins.
We have a serious problem. Victoria has the original trust documents. We need to stop the release.
Richard stared at the screen.
Then he opened the previous message.
The one that had warned him about the signature.
For the first time, he wondered whether the person trying to stop the investigation was not an outside enemy.
It was someone sitting beside him all along.