Chapter 2
Chapter 2
At 7:18, Daniel entered the nearly empty office. The Christmas decorations from the party still hung along the reception area, cheerful against the gray morning light. He went straight to his workstation and opened the project archive Mark had mentioned. One folder was missing—the Benton account files he had worked on for months. Daniel checked again, then searched the backup system. The access history showed something that made his stomach tighten.
Someone had accessed the folder at 11:47 p.m. the previous night. Daniel had been home by then, standing beside his daughter’s Christmas tree. The login belonged to his employee account. But he had never made that login. Someone had used his credentials while he was asleep.
Daniel immediately printed the access record. Before he could take another breath, Mark appeared behind him. “You’re early,” he said, staring at the papers in Daniel’s hand. His expression changed for only a second, but Daniel saw it. “I came to ask about the missing files,” Daniel replied.
Mark smiled without warmth. “Missing files? Daniel, you were the last person assigned to them.” Daniel looked directly at him. “I was also at home when my account accessed them.” Mark’s smile disappeared.
Then the elevator doors opened. Victoria Hayes stepped into the office with two members of Northstar’s legal team behind her. She had not come to wish anyone a happy Christmas. She walked straight toward Daniel’s desk and held out her hand. “Give me the access record,” she said.
Daniel handed it over. Victoria read it once, then again. Her face became completely still. “This timestamp,” she said quietly. “It was after I left your house.” Daniel nodded. Mark stepped forward, but Victoria raised one hand.
“No explanations yet.” She turned toward legal counsel. “Freeze every access credential connected to the Benton account. Preserve the server logs, security footage, and email records.” Mark went pale. Daniel realized then that Victoria had not come to punish him. She had come because she had already started looking for the truth.
Victoria looked at Daniel. “You told me last night not to ask questions unless I knew what I would do with the answers.” She placed the access record on his desk. “I know now.” Daniel swallowed hard. For the first time in months, someone at Northstar was finally listening.
And then Victoria added one sentence that made Daniel look up sharply. “There is one more person whose name appears in the audit.”