Chapter 13 - The Man Who Chose to Believe Her
Sloan claimed Daniel had carried evidence unrelated to Northbridge.
A second investigation.
One involving Whitmore's charitable foundation.
Emily didn't trust him.
Alexander didn't either.
But they checked.
Daniel's old notes contained references to “W.F.”
Whitmore Foundation.
The foundation had transferred money into scholarship accounts.
At first everything looked legitimate.
Then Emily found canceled scholarships.
Money allocated to students who supposedly never enrolled.
She traced one name.
Her own.
EMILY CARTER.
A scholarship had been created for her when she was fourteen.
$200,000.
She had never received it.
Alexander stared.
“Who created it?”
Emily checked.
Richard Whitmore.
After Daniel's death, Richard had quietly established education funds for Daniel's children.
Emily and Noah.
Someone canceled them.
The money disappeared.
Emily felt sick.
Her family had struggled for years.
Noah nearly quit school.
Diane skipped meals.
Meanwhile, money intended for them had existed.
“Who took it?”
The authorization belonged to Sloan.
Emily laughed once.
Not from humor.
From disbelief.
Sloan had stolen even that.
Alexander recovered the funds through the foundation.
Emily initially refused them.
Diane changed her mind.
“That money wasn't charity.”
Emily looked at her.
“Your father earned the truth it represents.”
Emily accepted enough to pay Noah's tuition.
The remainder went into a fund for children of employees harmed by Northbridge.
Alexander learned about it afterward.
“You gave most of it away?”
“I kept what we needed.”
“Why?”
“Because I know what nineteen dollars can mean when it's the difference between an interview dress and no interview.”
Alexander looked at her differently.
Not pity.
Something warmer.
Months of tension finally softened.
They walked through Whitmore's lobby after everyone left.
Emily stopped near the chairs where she'd been mocked.
“Funny.”
“What?”
“I almost ran.”
“I know.”
She turned.
“You were watching?”
“From behind the glass.”
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
“And if I'd left?”
“I don't know.”
Emily smiled.
“You wouldn't have chased me?”
“I didn't know you.”
“Exactly.”
He smiled too.
Their eyes held.
Alexander stepped closer.
Then stopped.
Emily appreciated the pause.
The choice.
She closed the distance.
Their first kiss was quiet.
Brief.
Nothing like the rumors.
When they separated, Alexander rested his forehead lightly against hers.
“Dinner?”
“Are you asking as my boss?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
Then every light in the lobby shut off.
Emily sighed.
“You have terrible timing.”
Alexander's phone buzzed.
Emergency notification.
Not a power failure.
Security lockdown.
Someone had entered the evidence storage room.
They ran upstairs.
The door stood open.
One box was missing.
Daniel Carter's original records.
Security footage showed the person who took it.
Emily watched the screen.
Her face went still.
The thief wasn't Sloan.
Wasn't Charles.
Wasn't Vanessa.
It was Martin Hale.
May you like
And before leaving the building, Martin had looked directly into the security camera and held up a handwritten message:
I KNOW WHERE DANIEL'S CAR IS.
