Chapter 15 - THE TERMINAL
“No trade.”
Rachel’s answer was immediate.
Grant was still on speaker outside Martin Shaw’s office when she said it.
“If Martin possesses relevant evidence and is demanding another piece of evidence in exchange, document the communication. Do not improvise.”
Grant cursed.
“He’ll destroy the page.”
“Then photograph his message.”
“He sent a photograph already.”
“Good. Preserve it.”
Daniel looked at me.
For the first time that day, neither of us was trying to win an argument.
We were trying not to make the situation worse.
That was progress.
Vanessa hated it.
“You’re going to let Martin walk away?”
Rachel replied, “No. We’re going to stop behaving like frightened amateurs.”
Vanessa went quiet.
Grant agreed to leave.
He drove back.
Meanwhile Daniel contacted Bennett Development’s outside cybersecurity firm and requested preservation of access logs for his office terminal.
Charles joined the call remotely.
He resisted at first.
Not because he opposed the investigation.
Because freezing systems during an active transaction cycle could disrupt company operations.
Daniel said, “Do it.”
Charles stared at his son.
Then nodded.
That was another shift.
Daniel had spent years letting Charles make final decisions.
Not this one.
Two hours later, we received preliminary access records.
Daniel’s terminal had been used after hours seventeen times during the previous four months.
His credentials authenticated every session.
Security badge records showed Daniel was absent for eleven of them.
“Who can physically enter your office?” I asked.
“Executives. Cleaning staff. My assistant.”
“What assistant?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Melissa Grant.”
Vanessa frowned.
“She was at the wedding.”
I remembered her.
Thirty-something. Dark blond hair. Quiet. Efficient.
She had been standing near Daniel when Lily screamed.
My stomach tightened.
“Where is she now?”
Daniel called.
Voicemail.
Charles called.
Voicemail.
Then Charles said something that changed the room.
“Melissa worked for Laura.”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
“Laura trained her before retiring.”
“Why didn’t I know that?”
“You did.”
“I knew she came from corporate administration. I didn’t know Laura personally selected her.”
Charles rubbed his forehead.
“Laura recommended her.”
That could mean Laura trusted Melissa.
Or suspected her.
We needed evidence.
The cybersecurity analyst continued.
The terminal sessions had accessed transaction templates and digital signature archives.
One session occurred on April seventeenth at 8:36 p.m.
Four minutes before Grant claimed Laura photographed Daniel inside Martin’s office.
Daniel had been in Chicago.
Someone used his office terminal in Ohio and simultaneously created the impression he was meeting Martin.
A deliberate alibi inversion.
Then the analyst gave us the device ID associated with a USB drive inserted during several sessions.
Charles recognized the inventory prefix.
“That’s not an executive drive.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Legal department.”
Martin’s department.
Daniel stood.
“So Martin came into my office.”
“Possibly.”
The analyst interrupted.
“No. Security badge data shows Mr. Shaw’s badge never entered the executive floor on those dates.”
Daniel looked at the screen.
“Whose did?”
The analyst read the badge number.
Charles went silent.
Daniel’s expression collapsed.
I didn’t recognize the number.
He did.
It belonged to his assistant.
Melissa Grant.
And Melissa was not related to Vanessa’s brother despite sharing his surname.
Daniel whispered, “She has access to my calendar, my office, my signatures—everything.”
Then Vanessa said, “She also planned Lily’s seating arrangement today.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Melissa put Lily at the family table.”
May you like
The same table beside which the torn note had been found.
📖 Melissa finally connected Daniel’s office access to Lily’s place at the wedding, but whether she planted the note or tried to save it would change everything. 👇
