Chapter 3 - The Employee Everyone Wanted To Silence
The office door was locked.
I stood there for several seconds, staring at the handle.
I could still hear the sound of someone moving inside.
Someone had been in my private office.
Someone had accessed files that were supposed to be protected.
And now someone was trying to keep me out.
I stepped back and looked at the lock.
It wasn't broken.
It wasn't damaged.
That meant whoever locked it had a key.
Or access.
I turned around.
"Who has a key to my office?"
Nobody answered.
The silence told me everything.
I looked at the people standing in the hallway.
Daniel was gone.
Maria looked terrified.
And Lily stood beside her mother, holding her backpack tightly against her chest.
I walked toward the security panel near the entrance.
Every room in my mansion had a security system.
Every door had access records.
Every movement was recorded.
That was something I had installed years ago after a business competitor attempted to steal confidential information from my company.
I entered my password.
The screen turned on.
"Access history."
I selected the office.
The records appeared.
My eyes immediately narrowed.
There were three entries from that evening.
My own access.
The house manager's access.
And another one.
Unknown.
Time stamp:
7:42 PM.
Only thirty minutes before I arrived home.
I stared at the screen.
Someone had entered my office while I was still in my business meeting.
Someone who knew exactly when I would return.
I saved the information.
Then I looked at Maria.
"Did you know someone entered my office tonight?"
She shook her head.
"No."
Her voice was quiet.
"I swear."
I believed her.
Because Maria was many things.
Scared.
Overworked.
Too trusting.
But she wasn't a liar.
"Then tell me everything you know."
She looked at Lily.
The little girl immediately understood.
She stepped away.
"I'll wait in the kitchen."
Maria grabbed her hand.
"No, sweetheart."
Then she looked at me.
"She should hear the truth too."
That surprised me.
Most people tried to protect children from ugly situations.
But maybe Maria knew something I didn't.
Maybe hiding the truth was what caused this problem.
We moved into the small sitting room beside the main hall.
I closed the door.
For the first time that night, nobody interrupted.
Maria sat down.
Her hands were shaking.
"I didn't want to cause trouble."
I looked at her.
"You didn't."
She looked at me.
"Sir, I know how this sounds."
"Then explain it."
She took a deep breath.
"Six months ago, I noticed my salary was arriving late."
I listened carefully.
"At first, I thought it was a mistake. Then one month became two. Then three."
She looked down.
"I asked the administration office."
"And?"
"They told me the payment had been approved by you."
I remained silent.
"Did you question it?"
She nodded.
"I did."
"What happened?"
Maria hesitated.
"They told me you were disappointed with my work."
That sentence stayed in the room.
Because it wasn't just about money anymore.
Someone had used my name to destroy a person's confidence.
Someone had made Maria believe I no longer valued her.
"And you believed them?"
She looked embarrassed.
"I didn't want to believe it."
Her voice cracked.
"But I thought maybe I had made mistakes."
I frowned.
"Maria, you have worked for my family longer than most employees."
She looked up.
"I know."
"Then why didn't you come to me?"
She was quiet.
Finally, she answered.
"Because they told me you were too busy."
That was the excuse everyone used when they wanted to separate someone from the truth.
Too busy.
Too important.
Too unreachable.
I looked toward Lily.
The girl was listening carefully.
She had probably heard her mother blame herself for months.
And that made me angry.
Not because someone stole money.
Because someone had convinced an innocent person that she deserved it.
My phone vibrated.
Another message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
A photo appeared.
It was a picture of a document.
A payment transfer.
Maria's name.
But the account receiving the money wasn't hers.
I zoomed in.
My expression changed.
The money hadn't disappeared.
It had been redirected.
To another account.
I checked the name.
And my stomach tightened.
The account belonged to a company.
A company connected to my family.
A company controlled by Daniel.
I looked at Maria.
"Did Daniel ever ask you to sign anything?"
She froze.
That reaction was enough.
"What?"
She looked away.
"Once."
"When?"
"Three months ago."
"What did he ask you to sign?"
She swallowed.
"He said it was a new employee policy form."
"Did you read it?"
"No."
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Not because I was angry at her.
Because I understood exactly what had happened.
People who wanted to steal didn't always use force.
Sometimes they used trust.
And Maria had trusted my family.
"Where is the document?"
"I don't know."
"Think."
She pressed her hands together.
"I remember seeing it in the administration room."
"Who was there?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Then she whispered:
"Daniel."
The name hung between us.
I stood up.
"I need to see the administration room."
Maria immediately stood.
"Sir, please."
I looked at her.
"Why are you afraid?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because whoever did this knows everything about this house."
I stopped.
"What do you mean?"
She looked toward the hallway.
"They know your schedule."
"They know your passwords."
"They know which employees you trust."
Her voice became smaller.
"And they know how to make everyone believe you are the problem."
I didn't respond.
Because that was the part that bothered me the most.
The person behind this wasn't a stranger.
It was someone close.
Someone who understood how my house worked.
Someone who knew exactly where my weaknesses were.
I walked toward the administration room.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, everything looked normal.
Too normal.
A desk.
Computer.
Employee files.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
But I had learned something over the years.
The best hiding places were usually the ones that looked untouched.
I turned on the computer.
The screen asked for a password.
I looked at Maria.
"Do you know it?"
She shook her head.
"No."
I tried the administration password from my company system.
Denied.
I tried again.
Denied.
Then I noticed something.
A small piece of paper near the keyboard.
It wasn't supposed to be there.
I picked it up.
It contained a list of numbers.
Dates.
Payment amounts.
And one name repeated over and over.
Maria.
But below the list was another name.
Not Daniel.
Not an employee.
Someone else.
Someone I never expected.
I took a picture of the paper.
Then I heard footsteps outside.
I turned.
The door slowly opened.
Daniel stood there.
His expression was different.
No more fake calm.
No more excuses.
He looked angry.
"What are you doing in here?"
I stared at him.
"What are you hiding?"
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then Daniel closed the door behind him.
"I was hoping you wouldn't find this."
My eyes narrowed.
"Find what?"
He looked at the paper in my hand.
Then at me.
"You really don't know, do you?"
I stepped closer.
"Know what?"
Daniel lowered his voice.
"The reason Maria was never supposed to talk to you."
The lights suddenly flickered.
The computer screen turned black.
And when it came back on, a new file appeared on the desktop.
A file that had been hidden before.
The name was simple.
"My Brother's Secret."
I reached for the mouse.
Then the screen displayed one final message before opening.
"Access granted by: Elizabeth Anderson."
My heart stopped.
May you like
Because Elizabeth was my mother's name.
And my mother had been dead for five years.
