Chapter 8
"Whenever your rigorous calculations threatened to reveal their missing funds, Mark forced you to work absurd overtime hours rewriting the models from scratch," Victoria added.
Daniel stared in disbelief at the documents, recognizing formulas and risk assessments he had painstakingly created during sleepless nights at his cluttered desk.
"They were using my exhaustion as their shield," Daniel said, the realization washing over him with shocking clarity and deep, lingering heartache.
"They knew you were an honest, dedicated employee who blamed yourself rather than questioning authority," Victoria said, her voice heavy with deep remorse.
"You took the blame for systemic anomalies because you believed your own work was flawed, while they pocketed millions behind your back," she continued.
At that moment, the double doors of the boardroom swung open abruptly as Andrew Cole walked in flanked by two private defense attorneys.
Andrew looked disheveled, his expensive gray wool coat damp from snow, but his arrogant expression remained defiant as he scanned the crowded room.
"Victoria, this circus is an absolute outrage," Andrew snapped loudly. "Having private security track my vehicle and harassing my associates is entirely unacceptable."
Victoria did not rise from her chair; she merely leaned back, her cold, penetrating eyes pinning the vice president where he stood in the doorway.
"You went to Daniel Carter’s daughter’s school this morning, Andrew," Victoria said, her voice dropping to a dangerous, icy whisper across the room.
Andrew’s eyes flickered toward Daniel, who was standing beside the table, and for a fraction of a second, raw panic flashed across his face.
"I went to deliver a personal holiday message to an employee," Andrew stammered, attempting to maintain an air of dignified professional composure.
"You went to intimidate a vulnerable single father because you knew his archived backups contained the raw, unedited version of the Benton projections," Victoria stated.
The lead detective stepped forward from the shadows near the window, holding a clear plastic evidence bag containing an external encrypted hard drive.
"We recovered this drive from Mark Reynolds' desk twenty minutes ago," the detective informed Andrew, displaying the serial number clearly on the label.
"Mark has already given a complete sworn confession regarding your offshore holding company in the Cayman Islands," the state investigator added calmly.
Andrew’s defense attorneys looked at each other, whispered briefly behind their hands, and then stepped back, signaling their immediate withdrawal from the argument.
"You used company funds, falsified performance records, and attempted to frame the most hardworking engineer in this building," Victoria said with absolute disgust.