Chapter 7 - Paige Saved More Than a Copy
The next morning, Kendra changed every password she could think of.
Email.
Cloud storage.
Banking.
The trust portal.
She slept less than two hours and woke with the same sentence repeating in her head.
Four hundred twenty thousand dollars.
Adrian had tried to transfer it the night she discovered the affair.
That meant the financial scheme was not theoretical.
Something had been closing.
At 8:12 a.m., Paige called.
“I’m sorry to bother you.”
“You’re not.”
“Adrian told us you’re trying to destroy the salon.”
Kendra closed her eyes.
“Of course he did.”
“He said you became irrational after finding out about Brielle.”
“And what do you think?”
Paige hesitated.
“I think irrational people usually don’t download bookkeeping records before leaving.”
Kendra almost smiled.
“What happened?”
“Adrian came in before seven.”
“That early?”
“He never comes before nine.”
“What did he do?”
“He went straight to the office and started clearing cabinets.”
Kendra stood.
“Clearing what?”
“Files. Boxes. He told me to shred old vendor paperwork.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“There’s something else.”
Kendra waited.
Paige lowered her voice.
“The office computer is gone.”
Adrian had removed it.
“Anything else?”
“He asked me about the security system.”
Kendra’s pulse sharpened.
The salon used four cameras for loss prevention—entry, reception, product storage, and hallway.
No camera recorded inside the private room.
“Did he ask for footage?”
“He asked how long recordings stay in the cloud.”
“Do you know?”
“Ninety days.”
“That doesn’t cover eight months.”
“No. But I downloaded some clips.”
Kendra froze.
“Why?”
“Because something felt weird two months ago.”
“What?”
“Adrian brought in a man with a notary stamp.”
Kendra’s heart began pounding.
Paige continued.
“They spent almost two hours in the private room. Brielle arrived later. Adrian told me no one was to interrupt them.”
“Did you see Kendra Mercer come into the salon that day?”
Paige became quiet.
“I didn’t know what you looked like then.”
“Did any other woman enter?”
“No.”
Kendra closed her eyes.
The consent form had supposedly been notarized that day.
“Paige, where are those clips?”
“At home.”
“Do not bring them to the salon.”
“Okay.”
“Do not tell Adrian you have them.”
“I won’t.”
“Can you meet my attorney?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Kendra?”
“Yes?”
“Why did Adrian tell us Brielle was his wife?”
Kendra looked toward the bedroom doorway.
Adrian’s side of the bed had not been touched.
“I’m trying to find out.”
They met Lena at eleven.
Paige brought a flash drive.
The hallway footage showed Adrian arriving at 2:13 p.m.
At 2:41, an older man entered carrying a leather notary case.
At 3:06, Brielle arrived.
At 3:18, Adrian briefly stepped into the hallway holding several pages.
At 3:55, the notary left.
At 4:07, Brielle left.
Kendra never appeared.
Lena watched twice.
“This is strong evidence that you were not physically present.”
“Unless Adrian claims I signed elsewhere.”
“The certificate says you personally appeared.”
Paige leaned forward.
“There’s more.”
She opened another file.
Video from six weeks earlier.
Adrian and Brielle walked through the salon together.
One technician smiled at Brielle.
Though the camera had no useful audio, Paige explained.
“That was the day a client asked who she was.”
“What did Adrian say?” Lena asked.
Paige looked at Kendra.
“He put his arm around Brielle and said, ‘My wife.’”
Kendra stared at the image.
Brielle smiled.
Not awkwardly.
Not unwillingly.
She smiled.
Kendra looked away.
Paige touched the mouse.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
Kendra forced herself to keep watching.
Then something caught her attention.
Adrian held a thick envelope under his arm.
A logo was visible.
NORTHSTAR.
“Pause.”
Paige froze the frame.
Lena leaned closer.
Kendra pointed.
“That envelope.”
Paige nodded.
“They delivered those a few times.”
“Who?”
“A courier.”
“Did Adrian ever mention what Northstar was?”
“No.”
“Did Brielle?”
Paige hesitated.
“Once.”
Kendra looked at her.
“What did she say?”
Paige took a breath.
“She said after the sale, Adrian wouldn’t have to answer to you anymore.”
Silence filled the room.
Kendra’s stomach tightened.
“After what sale?”
“She didn’t say.”
Paige reached into her bag.
“And I found this yesterday after you left.”
She placed a small key on Lena’s desk.
“Where?”
“Under Adrian’s chair.”
Kendra recognized it instantly.
A brass key with a black plastic cap.
Her house.
Her mother’s old file cabinet.
The cabinet where Kendra kept original trust records.
Kendra stared at Paige.
“How long has that been at the salon?”
“I don’t know.”
Kendra picked up the key.
It had been missing for nearly a year.
She had assumed she misplaced it.
Now she knew better.
May you like
Adrian had not merely read her family files.
He had been taking them.
