"Come with me."
They passed through two secured doors and entered an older section of the facility.
The temperature dropped.
At the end of a narrow corridor was a locked storage room.
Evelyn entered a code.
The door opened.
Rows of outdated server racks lined the walls.
Dust covered several cabinets.
Some had been disconnected.
One still had power.
Evelyn walked to it.
She entered another password.
A cabinet door released with a click.
Inside sat an old backup server.
Daniel stared at it.
"This is your destroyed database."
Evelyn nodded.
"I found the inventory reference last night."
"Why was it kept?"
"I didn't keep it."
Daniel looked at her.
"Who did?"
Her answer was barely audible.
"Victor."
Daniel felt the situation shift again.
Before he could respond, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Evelyn froze.
The handle moved.
Daniel stepped slightly in front of her without thinking.
The door opened.
A corporate security officer appeared.
"Ms. Grant."
Evelyn exhaled.
"What are you doing here?"
The man smiled politely.
"Mr. Hail asked me to check the server room."
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
She looked back.
Neither spoke.
The officer glanced at the open cabinet.
"Is something wrong?"
Daniel closed it.
"No."
He met the man's eyes.
"Everything's fine."
The officer remained there for one second too long.
Then he nodded.
"Of course."
He left.
Daniel waited until the footsteps disappeared.
Evelyn whispered, "He shouldn't know about this room."
Daniel looked at the closed door.
"Now he does."
By early afternoon, Evelyn had made a decision.
She would not confront Victor.
Not yet.
Instead she scheduled an emergency meeting with two outside auditors who reported directly to the board.
She wanted independent eyes on the records before anyone could erase them.
But thirty minutes before that meeting, Victor entered her office.
He closed the door behind him.
No assistant announced him.
No appointment appeared on her calendar.
"You've been busy," he said.
Evelyn remained seated.
"So have you."
Victor placed a folder on her desk.
"Open it."
She did.
The first photograph showed Daniel leaving the Sterling Grand.
The next showed his pickup.
The third showed Lily entering school.
Then their house.
Then Daniel outside Dock 14.
Evelyn's face lost color.
Victor watched her.
"I don't care what happens to me," she said.
"That's admirable."
"I care what happens to my company."
"So do I."
"You did this."
Victor smiled.
"No."
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not."
He leaned forward.
"Someone much smarter did."
Evelyn stared at him.
"Who?"