Chapter 2

It was Saturday morning when the vibration of my phone jolted me awake.

A message from Laura in HR awaited me on the screen.

[Steven, the company has received a joint complaint signed by several employees, alleging misconduct on your part. You are required to report to HR at 2:00 p.m. on Monday to explain the situation.]

I typed a reply.

[What complaint?]

Her response came almost immediately.

[An alleged inappropriate relationship between you and a young woman. There are photographs and witnesses.]

I drew a deep breath.

[She's my wife. We've been married for three years.]

[Please provide supporting documentation on Monday. The company will conduct a thorough review.]

Her tone was strictly professional, but the dismissiveness beneath it was obvious.

I took a screenshot of the conversation and sent it to Kayla.

[They're saying you're the college girl I'm keeping on the side.]

Her reply came instantly.

[Who said that?]

[Issac and a bunch of people who just want to watch the drama unfold.]

A few seconds later, another message appeared.

[I'm going with you on Monday.]

[Don't bother. I can handle this.]

[No, you can't.]

Her response was so firm that I did not argue further.

I was not about to sit around waiting for HR to finish its investigation.

Instead, I called the hotel directly.

"Hello, I'd like to verify the check-in records for last Wednesday night."

The receptionist confirmed my booking reference.

"The reservation was registered under Ms. Kayla Stone. There were two guests in total."

"And the other guest?"

"Mr. Steven Lane."

I asked her to send the electronic confirmation to the email address on file.

The email arrived shortly afterward.

Our names appeared side by side on the document, along with a check-in time of 10:17 p.m.

I forwarded the file to myself and saved another copy to the cloud.

When it came to evidence, you could never have too much. The real danger lay in keeping everything on a single computer.

...

By Monday morning, something felt off the moment I stepped into the office.

Several colleagues fell silent as soon as I entered the break room. They grabbed their cups and hurried out without another word.

I poured myself a cup of water and caught snippets of conversation drifting in from the hallway.

"I heard HR's going to fire him."

"Serves him right. People like him deserve to be investigated."

I returned to my desk and opened my computer.

An internal notice awaited me in my inbox.

'Subject: Investigation Notice Regarding Steven Lane. Pending the conclusion of the investigation, Steven's promotion eligibility and authority as project lead are hereby suspended.'

The notice had been jointly issued by HR and Issac.

I stared at the screen and tapped my fingers against the desk.

At 2:00 p.m. sharp, I arrived at HR.

Laura sat behind her desk. Issac and Selene sat across from her.

The moment I entered the room, all three looked up at me.

Laura gestured toward an empty chair.

"Please take a seat."

I sat down and placed my marriage certificate and a copy of Kayla's ID on the desk.

"These are my wife's documents. We officially registered our marriage three years ago."

Laura picked up the marriage certificate and flipped through it without a word.

I then wrote down the hotel's booking reference and slid the paper toward her.

"The hotel where the photos were taken can verify our stay. Please have HR obtain the front desk records, as well as surveillance footage from the public areas."

Laura glanced at the paper.

"Hotel records require a formal request. We can't get them immediately."

"Then submit the request now."

I pushed the paper a little closer.

"You can't base an investigation solely on screenshots provided by Issac."

A cold laugh escaped Issac.

"Steven, where did you get that certificate? Photoshop is so advanced these days that fake documents are everywhere."

Selene joined in.

"I've seen Mr. Lane's wife before. She really is young enough to pass for a college student. Maybe he was tricked into marrying her. It isn't unheard of for women to pretend to be younger than they are."

Laura tapped her knuckles against the desk.

"Steven, can you contact your wife and ask her to come in? The company needs to verify her identity."

I took out my phone.

"Of course. She's available right now."

I dialed her number, and she answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

I glanced at the three people sitting across from me and lowered my voice.

"Kayla, they're saying you're the college girl I'm keeping on the side."

Silence filled the line for three seconds.

Then she spoke.

"Send me the address."

After ending the call, I looked at Laura.

"She'll be here in 10 minutes."

Just then, Laura's phone chimed.

She glanced at the screen. Her expression shifted slightly before she hurriedly placed the phone face down on the desk.

Even so, I caught the message preview.

[Request for hotel surveillance footage denied. Reason: Submitter lacks authorization.]

I looked directly at her.

"Who submitted the request on my behalf?"

Laura placed her phone face down on the desk and replied, "That's not information you need to know."

I did not press the issue.

Judging by her reaction, someone had tampered with the evidence much sooner than I had anticipated.