The First Crack

By Wednesday afternoon, Sophia Bennett had discovered three things about Vale Corporation.

First, nobody knew how to make decent coffee.

Second, everyone was terrified of Adrian Vale.

Third, the company’s European turnover problem was much worse than the reports suggested.

Sophia stared at the spreadsheet on her screen.

Then she stared at the numbers again.

“That’s not possible.”

She opened another file.

Same pattern.

Another department.

Same thing.

She leaned back in her chair.

Employees weren’t simply resigning.

They were leaving in clusters.

Usually after a management change.

Usually after someone new took control of a department.

And almost every time, the resignations were followed by complaints that disappeared from the official reports.

Sophia frowned.

Someone had been cleaning the data.

She checked the timestamps.

Then the archived versions.

Her stomach tightened.

The original reports contained dozens of employee complaints.

The final reports contained almost none.

Someone had deliberately removed them.

“Interesting.”

Sophia nearly jumped out of her chair.

Claire stood behind her.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know you talk to spreadsheets.”

“I don’t.”

“You just said, ‘That’s not possible.’”

“I was talking to myself.”

“That’s worse.”

Sophia turned the monitor toward her.

“Look.”

Claire’s expression changed as she read the figures.

“Where did you get these?”

“Internal archives.”

“Who gave you access?”

“The system did.”

Claire stared at her.

“That’s not what I meant.”

Sophia lowered her voice.

“Someone has been altering the European turnover reports.”

Claire looked toward Adrian’s office.

“Have you told him?”

“Not yet.”

“Good.”

Sophia blinked.

“Good?”

Claire pulled up a chair.

“Don’t accuse anyone until you know exactly what you’re looking at.”

“I wasn’t going to accuse anyone.”

“You have the face.”

“What face?”

“The face you make when you’ve discovered something.”

Sophia frowned.

“I don’t have a face for that.”

“You absolutely do.”

Before Sophia could respond, the doors to Adrian’s office opened.

Both women looked up.

Adrian stepped out.

His expression was unreadable.

“Sophia.”

She stood immediately.

“Yes?”

“My office.”

Claire gave her a sympathetic look.

Sophia whispered,

“Am I fired?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve been fired before.”

“That isn’t reassuring.”

Sophia followed Adrian.

His office was as intimidating as ever.

He walked behind his desk.

“Sit.”

She sat.

Adrian remained standing.

“How is the report?”

Sophia hesitated.

“Complicated.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

“It’s going well.”

“Then why did you say complicated?”

Sophia looked at him.

“Because I found something.”

Adrian’s expression hardened.

“What?”

“Your turnover figures have been altered.”

Silence.

Sophia continued carefully.

“I don’t know why yet. But the archived versions don’t match the current reports.”

Adrian walked toward her.

“Show me.”

She turned her laptop around.

Adrian studied the screen.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he noticed the dates.

His expression changed.

Only slightly.

But Sophia noticed.

“You recognize something?”

“No.”

It was too quick.

Sophia raised an eyebrow.

Adrian looked at her.

She immediately lowered it.

“Sorry.”

He looked back at the screen.

“Who has access to these files?”

“Several people.”

“Names.”

Sophia gave him the list.

Adrian read it.

Then stopped.

One name caught his attention.

Sophia watched him carefully.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No.”

Again, too quick.

He closed the laptop.

“Don’t discuss this with anyone.”

Sophia stared at him.

“Not even Claire?”

“Especially not Claire.”

Sophia’s eyes widened.

“That’s concerning.”

“It should be.”

He walked back toward his desk.

Sophia stood.

Then stopped at the door.

“Mr. Vale?”

He looked up.

“Yes?”

“Do you trust the people who work for you?”

The question hung between them.

Adrian’s expression became colder.

“I used to.”

Sophia didn’t know what to say to that.

So she nodded and left.

The door closed behind her.

Adrian stood alone.

His eyes moved to the name on the list.

A name he hadn’t expected to see.

A name connected to Elena.

He reached for his phone.

The unknown number had been silent since the photograph.

Adrian typed:

Was this what Elena was protecting?

The message showed as delivered.

No response.

He waited.

Nothing.

Then another notification appeared.

Not from the unknown number.

An old photograph had been uploaded to his private cloud account.

Adrian stared at it.

He opened the image.

It was from six months ago.

The night before Elena had gone to the hotel with Marcus.

Elena was leaving a restaurant.

But she wasn’t alone.

The same man from the photograph was standing beside her.

And this time, his face was almost visible.

Adrian zoomed in.

His heart stopped.

Not because he could identify the man.

But because he recognized the place.

The restaurant belonged to someone Adrian knew.

Someone Elena had no reason to meet.

Someone who had never appeared in their marriage.

Adrian’s phone vibrated.

One message.

You’re looking in the wrong place.

Adrian typed immediately.

Then where should I look?

Three dots appeared.

Disappeared.

Then appeared again.

Finally, the answer arrived.

Ask Elena what she did the day before she betrayed you.

Adrian stared at the words.

The day before.

Not the night.

Not the hotel.

The day before.

For six months, he had been asking Elena why she had slept with Marcus.

He had never asked what she had done before that.

And suddenly, Adrian realized something terrifying.

Maybe Elena hadn’t been hiding the reason for her betrayal.

Maybe she had been hiding the events that led to it.

His phone vibrated one final time.

And Adrian?

He waited.

The man in the photograph isn’t the person you should be afraid of.

Adrian’s blood ran cold.

Another message appeared.

It’s the person who took the photograph.