Chapter 7 - The Evidence Already Had Tristan’s NameRichard ended the call before anyone could ask another question.
The television went black.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Barrett turned toward Vaughn.
“You need to stop him.”
Vaughn laughed.
“Now you want my help?”
“If he files against Carroway, we all lose.”
“You seemed comfortable with that when you thought you were getting paid.”
Barrett snapped:
“I didn’t know he was planning this.”
Tristan stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Both men stopped.
Tristan looked at Barrett.
“What evidence does Richard have against me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Wrong answer.”
“I swear.”
“Did he clone my credentials?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“That makes you innocent?”
“No.”
Barrett looked exhausted suddenly.
“I needed approvals moved through Carroway accounts.”
“So you knew someone was using my credentials.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Richard handled it.”
“Who inside the company?”
“I don’t know.”
Tristan felt his anger rising.
Everyone used that phrase at the exact point where responsibility became uncomfortable.
Vaughn said:
“The auditors found the access route.”
Everyone turned.
He opened the latest report.
Tristan’s credentials had been duplicated through an administrator account.
Account holder:
Nathan Cole.
Tristan frowned.
“IT security?”
“Yes.”
Nathan had worked for Carroway for eleven years.
Quiet.
Reliable.
Tristan had attended his wedding.
Maren whispered:
“Is he still employed?”
Vaughn nodded.
“Head of infrastructure.”
Tristan grabbed his phone.
“No.”
Vaughn stopped him.
“Don’t call.”
“Why?”
“If Richard is filing at eight, Nathan may be destroying evidence now.”
They contacted the forensic team instead.
Remote access logs showed Nathan’s company laptop online.
Location:
Carroway headquarters.
2:13 a.m.
Tristan stared.
“He’s there.”
Vaughn nodded.
Police could now be involved.
Not because of the family accusation alone.
Corporate fraud.
Unauthorized system access.
Potential evidence destruction.
Vaughn called his attorney and law enforcement.
Odette sat quietly.
Then Tristan noticed she was crying again.
“What?”
She looked up.
“Nathan.”
“What about him?”
“I know him.”
“Everyone knows him.”
“No.”
Her voice dropped.
“I know him from before.”
Tristan felt cold.
“Before what?”
“Before you.”
Barrett looked over.
Odette continued.
“Nathan was Ethan’s roommate.”
Tristan stared.
“What?”
“In college.”
“How did I never know this?”
“They stopped talking years ago.”
“Did Richard know Nathan?”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
Odette looked ashamed.
“Richard represented Nathan once.”
“For what?”
“Hacking charges.”
Vaughn’s expression sharpened.
“When?”
“Almost ten years ago.”
“Before he joined Carroway.”
“Yes.”
Tristan stared at his father.
“Who hired Nathan?”
Vaughn went quiet.
Barrett answered.
“I recommended him.”
Everyone looked at Barrett.
He lifted his hands.
“I didn’t know this.”
Vaughn stared.
“You recommended a hacker represented by Richard Vale.”
“I knew him through Richard.”
Maren laughed bitterly.
“Does anyone in this family know anyone who wasn’t introduced by Richard?”
The pattern became undeniable.
Richard had spent years placing people.
Nathan inside technology.
Barrett inside Bellwether.
Odette inside Tristan’s life.
Maybe none were initially told the full plan.
They didn’t need to be.
Richard only needed relationships.
Weaknesses.
Access.
“Why us?” Tristan asked.
Vaughn looked at him.
Richard could have targeted other companies.
Why build something this elaborate around Carroway?
Barrett said:
“Because of your grandfather.”
Vaughn’s expression changed.
Tristan looked between them.
“What about Grandpa?”
Their father, Arthur Carroway, had died twelve years earlier.
Founder of a small manufacturing firm Vaughn later expanded into Carroway Holdings.
Barrett sat.
“Richard’s father worked for him.”
Vaughn looked surprised.
“What?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No.”
Barrett laughed.
“Apparently I’m not the only one keeping secrets.”
“Who was Richard’s father?”
“Henry Vale.”
Vaughn went still.
That name meant something.
Tristan saw it.
“Dad?”
Vaughn sat down slowly.
“Henry was our father’s accountant.”
Maren frowned.
“And?”
Vaughn’s voice lowered.
“He went to prison.”
“For what?”
“Embezzlement.”
Barrett added:
“Three million dollars.”
Tristan looked at Vaughn.
“Grandpa caught him?”
“Yes.”
“Testified?”
“Yes.”
“Henry died in prison?”
“No.”
Barrett looked toward the dark television.
“He died six months after release.”
Silence.
Tristan understood.
Richard did not discover Carroway by accident.
This had begun before Odette.
Before Bellwether.
Before Tristan was CEO.
Richard grew up believing the Carroway family destroyed his father.
Vaughn said:
“Henry stole from employees’ retirement accounts.”
Barrett shook his head.
“That was Dad’s story.”
“You think he was innocent?”
“I think Arthur was capable of protecting himself.”
Vaughn’s face hardened.
“You sound like Richard.”
“Maybe Richard showed me things you never saw.”
“What things?”
Barrett stood.
“Documents.”
Vaughn laughed.
“Fake?”
“Maybe.”
“Where?”
“Richard has them.”
Of course.
Then Tristan’s phone rang.
Detective assigned to the headquarters response.
They had entered Carroway’s offices.
Nathan Cole was gone.
His laptop remained.
Still running.
On the screen was a countdown.
05:42:17
Five hours and forty-two minutes until 8:00 a.m.
And beneath it:
AUTOMATIC RELEASE PACKAGE ARMED.
If they shut the laptop down, the upload would trigger immediately.
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The evidence against Tristan was already prepared.
And someone wanted them to watch the clock.
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