The Name That Disappeared

Sophia Bennett had always believed that numbers were honest.

People weren’t.

Numbers couldn’t flatter you.

They couldn’t manipulate a conversation.

They couldn’t smile while lying to your face.

They simply existed.

Which was why the spreadsheet on Sophia’s screen was making her increasingly uncomfortable.

She stared at the same name for the fourth time.

Nathaniel Cross.

She typed it into the company’s internal search system.

Nothing.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

Sophia frowned.

That was impossible.

The confidential report she’d received clearly listed him as a former employee of Vale Corporation.

His employee identification number was there.

His department was there.

His employment dates were there.

But according to the company’s current records, Nathaniel Cross had never existed.

Sophia leaned closer to the screen.

“That’s creepy.”

Claire looked over from her desk.

“What is?”

Sophia turned her monitor toward her.

“Do you know Nathaniel Cross?”

Claire’s expression changed.

Only for a second.

But Sophia saw it.

“No.”

“You answered too quickly.”

Claire’s face became neutral.

“I don’t know him.”

Sophia watched her.

“Have you heard the name?”

Claire hesitated.

“No.”

Another lie.

Sophia didn’t know why she was certain.

She simply was.

She closed the file.

“Okay.”

Claire returned to her work.

Sophia waited.

Thirty seconds.

A minute.

Then Claire finally looked up.

“Why are you asking?”

“Because he appears in an old internal report.”

“What kind of report?”

“European operations.”

Claire’s expression tightened.

“Sophia, leave it alone.”

Sophia blinked.

“Why?”

“Because Adrian told you to investigate turnover.”

“He did.”

“Then investigate turnover.”

“I am.”

Claire lowered her voice.

“You’re investigating something else.”

Sophia looked at her.

“I think they’re connected.”

“You’re new here.”

“I know.”

“You don’t understand how this company works.”

“Then explain it to me.”

Claire didn’t answer.

She stood and walked toward the coffee machine.

Sophia watched her go.

Something was definitely wrong.

She opened the confidential report again.

Nathaniel Cross.

Employee number.

Position.

Department.

Then she noticed something beneath his name.

A date.

September 14.

Sophia checked the report’s publication date.

September 16.

Two days later.

She frowned.

Then she noticed the handwritten note beneath it.

Do not include in final report.

Sophia’s stomach tightened.

Someone hadn’t simply deleted Nathaniel Cross from the company’s records.

Someone had deliberately removed him.

She copied the employee number onto a piece of paper.

Then searched the financial system.

Nothing.

Human resources.

Nothing.

Security records.

Nothing.

Building access.

Nothing.

It was as though the man had vanished.

Sophia sat back.

“Okay.”

She looked around the office.

Nobody seemed to be watching her.

She opened another system.

Employee archives.

She entered the number.

The screen loaded.

Then froze.

A red warning appeared.

ACCESS RESTRICTED.

Sophia stared at it.

“Seriously?”

She tried again.

The same message appeared.

Then her screen went black.

Sophia jumped.

A notification appeared.

You shouldn’t be looking for him.

She froze.

The message disappeared.

Then another appeared.

Stop.

Sophia stared at the screen.

Her heart began beating faster.

She hadn’t told anyone she was searching for Nathaniel.

Nobody should have known.

She slowly looked around.

The office was quiet.

Too quiet.

Then the screen returned to normal.

Sophia immediately shut the laptop.

She grabbed her notebook and stood.

She needed to talk to Adrian.

She walked toward his office.

The door was closed.

She knocked.

No answer.

She knocked again.

Still nothing.

Sophia opened the door slightly.

“Mr. Vale?”

Empty.

His desk was perfectly organized.

His chair pushed in.

No laptop.

No phone.

Nothing.

She closed the door.

As she turned around, she noticed something on the floor.

A photograph.

Sophia bent down and picked it up.

She looked at it.

A woman.

Elena.

Sophia recognized her from photographs she’d seen online.

Adrian’s former wife.

Sophia turned the photograph over.

There was handwriting on the back.

September 14.

The same date.

Sophia’s expression changed.

She looked toward Adrian’s empty office.

Then back at the photograph.

Why would Elena’s photograph have the same date as the mysterious employee?

She turned it over again.

There was something else written underneath the date.

Three words.

Ask what she knew.

Sophia’s stomach dropped.

She immediately put the photograph back where she’d found it.

She shouldn’t be involved.

This wasn’t her business.

She had a job.

She needed the salary.

She needed stability.

She absolutely did not need to become involved in whatever secret was surrounding Adrian Vale’s marriage.

Sophia walked quickly back to her desk.

She sat down.

For several minutes, she did nothing.

Then she opened her laptop again.

A new email was waiting.

No sender.

No subject.

Just one sentence.

You were hired because Adrian needs someone he can trust.

Sophia stared at the screen.

Another line appeared beneath it.

He doesn’t know that yet.

Sophia’s face went pale.

Then a final message appeared.

Neither do you.

The email disappeared.

Sophia sat completely still.

She didn’t understand.

She didn’t know who had hired her.

Adrian had interviewed her himself.

He had chosen her because of her economics degree and her previous investigation.

At least, that was what she’d believed.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

Across the office, Adrian’s empty door remained closed.

And for the first time since joining Vale Corporation, Sophia wondered whether she had been hired to solve a problem…

or whether she had been brought into the company because someone wanted her to uncover a secret.

She looked down at her notes.

At the top of the page was the name she’d written earlier.

Nathaniel Cross.

Underneath it, she added another name.

Elena Laurent Vale.

Then she stopped.

A final thought crossed her mind.

If Nathaniel Cross had disappeared from Vale Corporation’s records…

why had someone gone to such great lengths to make sure Sophia found him?