Chapter 22 - THE LAST COPY
Investigators searched every drive in the van.
Most contained random files.
Some contained altered versions of the ledger.
No two copies were identical.
Lydia had designed them to create confusion.
One file blamed Brianna.
Another blamed Victor.
A third suggested Elena had known about Westbridge before reporting Daniel.
Each version contained enough authentic records to appear believable.
“The real ledger has a verification code,” Naomi said. “Without it, we cannot prove which version is original.”
Lydia refused to provide the code.
Her attorney claimed she had been an employee following Mercer family instructions.
The case that had seemed complete became uncertain again.
Then Claire contacted Elena.
Owen had remembered a phrase Lydia used whenever she sent encrypted instructions.
The truth belongs to the first witness.
Elena repeated the sentence to Naomi.
“It might be a password.”
It was not.
But it reminded Elena of the first person outside the Mercer family who had seen evidence of the scheme.
The bank manager.
He had shown Elena the forged transfer.
He had also preserved the device records despite pressure from Graham Sloane.
Naomi brought him in for questioning.
The manager remembered receiving an automated archive file on the morning Elena challenged the transfer.
The bank’s system created the file before anyone could alter the authorization.
It contained a hidden certificate linked to Crownstead’s document software.
The certificate number matched one set of files recovered from Lydia’s van.
Investigators had found the original ledger.
The authentic records confirmed that Vale Medical had paid a consultant recommended by Senator Reed.
The consultant later transferred part of the fee to a company controlled by one of Reed’s aides.
Robert had not authorized the payment and had received no direct benefit beyond the approval his company legally qualified to receive.
Still, he issued a public statement.
“We should have examined the consultant more carefully. Ignorance does not erase responsibility.”
Vale Medical funded an independent investigation and returned every financial advantage connected to the consultant.
The company’s stock fell.
Several board members demanded Robert resign.
He did.
Elena found him alone in his home office after the announcement.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Robert shook his head.
“You told Lydia we would face the truth.”
“I didn’t want this to cost you everything.”
“It didn’t.”
He looked at a photograph of Elena as a child.
“I still have my daughter.”
Across the city, Lydia learned that the real ledger had been verified.
Within hours, her attorney requested a meeting.
She was prepared to cooperate.
May you like
But she wanted one person present.
Daniel Mercer.
