Chapter 6 - The Poisoned WhispersBy 3:00 p.m., the boardroom had cleared. The board members had fled, terrified of being implicated in the financial audit, leaving Daniel and Vanessa alone in the executive suite.
"How did she find the Cayman account?" Vanessa screamed, pacing back and forth, her fingers clawing at her hair. "You told me your encryption was unbreakable! You told me she was just a figurehead!"
"She designed the system, Vanessa!" Daniel shouted back, his face red, sweat soaking through his shirt collar. "I didn't think she had the master admin signatures active anymore! My access code was supposed to override everything!"
"If they link that money to the fire..." Vanessa’s voice dropped to a terrified whisper. "If they start looking into the safety systems... Daniel, we are going to prison!"
Daniel grabbed her shoulders, his grip tight enough to bruise. "Listen to me! The police already closed the case. It’s a carbon monoxide accident. A corporate audit can’t prove murder. We just need to get her to sign a settlement. We offer her the lake house, the suburban estate, and twenty million in cash to drop the audit."
Vanessa looked at him, her eyes narrowing. "And if she refuses?"
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"She won't refuse," Daniel said, a dark, desperate look entering his eyes. "If she refuses, I’ll make sure she has an 'accident' of her own. She’s already 'unstable' in the eyes of the public. If she takes her own life out of grief, no one will ask questions."
From the vent above their heads, a tiny, high-gain microphone captured every single word of their conversation, transmitting the raw audio directly to the police detective Claire had hired privately—Detective Robert Shaw, a retired homicide investigator who didn't believe in coincidences.
