Chapter 6 - The Secret Inside the CompanyMarcus disconnected the laptop from the network.
Too late.
The files had already been copied.
Wendell stared at him.
“How?”
“Someone had access.”
“From inside?”
“Almost certainly.”
Wendell stood.
“Then no one at headquarters is getting told anything.”
Marcus nodded.
They moved everything to an underground conference room beneath one of Wendell's private properties.
No phones.
No internet.
No assistants.
Only Wendell, Marcus, and Jaylen.
They played Daniel's recordings manually.
One file contained technical schematics.
Another contained financial records.
Then they found a spreadsheet.
Wendell recognized the accounts.
Shell companies.
Consulting firms.
Payments.
Millions of dollars.
All linked to one offshore entity.
The name:
VOSS STRATEGIC HOLDINGS
Wendell's stomach dropped.
“Richard has been siphoning research money.”
Marcus nodded.
“Looks like it.”
“But why?”
Jaylen answered.
“To control the project.”
Wendell looked at him.
“You think Richard wants to steal Orion?”
“He already did.”
Jaylen pointed at the screen.
“Look.”
A column labeled ORION DEVELOPMENT showed millions spent.
But Daniel's actual laboratory had received almost nothing.
The rest had gone somewhere else.
Wendell frowned.
“What is this?”
Marcus zoomed in.
A second company.
BLACKWELL ENERGY PARTNERS
Wendell recognized the name.
A private investment group.
One of the largest competitors to Hayes Renewables.
Then he saw another name.
His chief financial officer.
His general counsel.
His chief technology officer.
All had connections to Blackwell.
Three executives.
His executives.
Wendell sat back.
“This is bigger than Richard.”
Jaylen nodded.
“My dad knew.”
“That's why he died.”
Jaylen looked down.
Wendell hesitated.
“I need to tell you something.”
Jaylen looked up.
“Your father asked me for help before the accident.”
Jaylen's face changed.
“What?”
“I received a message from him.”
“Why didn't you help him?”
Wendell's voice lowered.
“Because I never saw it.”
Jaylen frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Wendell pulled an old company phone from a cabinet.
“I found it after the laboratory fire.”
He opened the device.
There was one unreplied message.
Timestamped eight years earlier.
From Daniel Tate.
WENDELL, THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME.
Jaylen's eyes filled.
“You had this?”
“Yes.”
“For eight years?”
“I never knew what it meant.”
Jaylen stood.
“You didn't even look?”
“I thought it was part of the investigation.”
“You thought my dad was lying?”
“No.”
“Then what did you think?”
Wendell had no answer.
Jaylen walked away.
Marcus watched him.
“Sir.”
Wendell stared at the floor.
“I failed him.”
Marcus remained silent.
Then the door opened.
One of the property staff stood there.
“Mr. Hayes.”
Wendell looked up.
“What?”
“There is a man outside asking for you.”
“Who?”
The employee swallowed.
“He says his name is Daniel Tate.”
Wendell stood so quickly the chair fell backward.
Marcus drew his weapon.
Jaylen froze.
Daniel Tate was dead.
May you like
Had been dead for eight years.
But the man outside had Daniel's face.
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