He looked at Marcus Vale's registration records.
"...or Marcus Vale isn't dead."
Evelyn's face hardened.
The next morning, Grant Meridian's board meeting began at eight.
Every seat was occupied.
Victor sat near the far end of the table.
General counsel sat beside him.
Two independent auditors were present.
Three security officers waited outside.
Daniel stood beyond the glass wall with a laptop under one arm.
He had slept less than two hours.
Evelyn entered carrying only a thin folder.
As she moved toward her chair, something on Victor's desk caught her attention.
A silver watch.
It was not the watch Victor normally wore.
It looked almost identical to hers.
Victor noticed her staring.
He covered it with his sleeve.
Then smiled.
The board chair cleared his throat.
"Ms. Grant, we are prepared to vote on the resolution concerning your removal as chief executive."
Evelyn placed the folder on the table.
"Before you do, I want everyone in this room to see something."
Victor leaned back.
The board chair hesitated.
Then nodded.
Evelyn opened the door.
"Daniel."
He entered.
Victor's smile disappeared.
Daniel connected the laptop to the conference-room display.
The first screen showed the duplicated shipment patterns.
Then the hidden template identifier.
814-37C.
Then the altered contracts.
Then the inflated acquisitions.
Then Northstar.
Whispers moved around the room.
Victor stood.
"This is fabricated."
Daniel looked at him.
"No."
Victor pointed at him.
"You're a maintenance worker."
Daniel nodded.
"That's why I know what happens when people keep replacing parts instead of asking why the machine keeps breaking."
Several board members looked toward the screen.
Daniel continued.
"Your financial team was looking at numbers. Your technology team was looking at software. Your board was looking at leadership."
He clicked.
"I looked at repetition."
Another screen appeared.
Remote login records.
Transaction timestamps.
System access locations.
"Every fraudulent transaction was generated through a remote terminal."
The general counsel leaned forward.
"Inside Grant Meridian?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
He enlarged the network history.
"The terminal was at the Sterling Grand Hotel."
Silence.
Evelyn looked at him.
"The ballroom?"
"Connected to the ballroom's event network."
Daniel clicked again.
"The operation was active before yesterday's presentation."
Victor suddenly moved toward the laptop.
Two security officers entered and blocked him.
He stopped.
The general counsel stood.
"You told us the system had been compromised by an employee."
Daniel looked at him.
"Parts of it were."
The attorney's expression tightened.
"Then what are you saying?"
"I'm saying whoever designed this wanted you to spend all your time looking inside the company."
Daniel opened one final file.
Security footage appeared.
A man entered the Sterling Grand's control room twenty-seven minutes before Evelyn's presentation.
Silver hair.
Navy coat.
Victor's height.
Victor's face.
The room erupted.
Victor stared at the screen.
"That's not me."