"I heard Grant made three calls this afternoon. " "To whom? " "I don't know, but one of them lasted nearly an hour. " Evelyn's instincts immediately sharpened. Long calls meant coordination.
Coordination meant the conspiracy was still active. Keep watching him already am. The line disconnected. Across the city, Marcus had moved from the cafe to Daniel's apartment where four computer monitors illuminated the dark living room. The recovered data continued expanding.
What began as missing server history had evolved into something much larger. Email routing records, hidden communication chains, private meeting schedules. The deeper they looked, the uglier the picture became. Then another discovery appeared. Marcus froze.
A hidden calendar event, private, restricted, deleted from company records 6 weeks earlier. He opened it. The meeting had taken place at a luxury hotel owned by Crownspire. Attendees Grant Whitaker, Damian Cole, and one additional name. Marcus felt his pulse hammer against his ribs.
There it was. Confirmation, not suspicion, not theory. Confirmation. Daniel looked over his shoulder. Holy hell.
Marcus stared at the screen. For several seconds, he couldn't speak because the person sitting beside Grant and Damian that night wasn't merely part of Evelyn's executive team. It was someone she trusted almost as much as she trusted him. The betrayal was now undeniable. Evelyn was reviewing financial reports when her personal phone rang.
Marcus, she answered immediately. You found it. Not a question, a statement. Marcus was quiet for a moment. She could hear traffic in the background.
Wind movement. Then his voice arrived low and controlled. I found everything. Evelyn's heart accelerated. Tell me.
Another pause. Not over the phone. Her stomach dropped. Marcus. Not over the phone.
The seriousness in his voice sent a chill through her. Whatever he had discovered was worse than she imagined. Where are you? She asked. 30 minutes away.
Come here. I can't. Why? Marcus looked across the street toward a black SUV parked near the curb. It had been there for almost 20 minutes.
Same vehicle, same driver watching because someone is following me. Silence filled the line. Evelyn stood up so fast her chair rolled backward. What? I noticed them leaving Daniel's building.