“Obviously.”
“You should probably start worrying about yours.”
Claire handed me a tablet.
On the screen was a financial diagram connecting three Halcyon subcontractors to one holding company.
Daniel’s holding company.
His face went pale.
Richard stared at the screen.
“What is that?”
“The reason Halcyon hired us.”
The anger disappeared from Richard’s expression.
For the first time, he looked genuinely afraid.
For six weeks, my investigators had been tracing suspicious contract awards, altered compliance reports, and payments moving through shell vendors.
Richard had approved the transactions.
Daniel had financially benefited from several of them.
But one piece was still missing.
Evidence that Richard knowingly intimidated people who challenged him.
Until that night.
Claire glanced toward the lounge.
“Four employees have already sent us copies of their recordings.”
Richard gave a nervous laugh.
“A disagreement with my wife proves nothing about company contracts.”
“No,” I said.
“But what you said afterward might matter.”
His smile disappeared.
Because Richard had forgotten the words he had whispered.
“Know your place.”
Three former employees had independently claimed Richard used almost the exact same phrase when they challenged him at work.
One woman had written it word for word in a retaliation complaint.
Suddenly, what happened that evening wasn’t standing alone anymore.
It supported a pattern investigators were already examining.
Richard looked through the lounge doors at his colleagues.
And for the first time that night, none of them looked away.
Company security arrived first.
Richard immediately tried to recover his executive composure.
He straightened his tie.
Lowered his voice.
