Chapter 9 - SOMEONE STILL INSIDEOmar accompanied the police to the foundation office. They found no intruder, no broken door, and one unlocked desk drawer. Inside was a spare authentication token Peter claimed he'd lost months earlier.
The wire had not cleared. The bank had placed a hold after seeing the fraud alert. But the destination account belonged to Hawthorn Capital, and the request specified a new purpose: FINAL FACILITY ACQUISITION.
"A duplicate token, then," Peter said. "I told you."
Grace noticed the way he repeated the phrase before the investigators asked. She said nothing. Peter had signed the courier order. Either he was extraordinarily careless or extraordinarily practiced.
Celia met Grace at a diner the next morning with a lawyer present. She described Victoria's daily routine: arriving early, asking people to step out, making assistants sign blank receipt logs for supplies not yet delivered.
"Did you ever question her?" Grace asked.
"Once. She told me she could make my immigration paperwork disappear."
Celia was a citizen. The threat had been absurd, but it worked because her new job mattered and she had never challenged someone powerful. Grace understood that feeling too well.
Celia slid over an expense calendar. "Peter met Nolan outside the office every second Thursday. This one's marked anniversary dinner, but Victoria was traveling."
The dates matched the largest payments. Grace gave the copy to the investigators.
At lunch, a board member named Malcolm Price demanded they reinstate Victoria until the audit was complete. "A donor's reputation is worth more than gossip," he said.
Grace put down her fork. "Then don't call it gossip. Call it evidence, and check it."
Malcolm stared at her as though she had forgotten her station. Adrián did not intervene. He had learned that Grace could answer for herself.
That evening, Malcolm sent an email to the trustees requesting an emergency vote to dismiss Grace.
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The motion included a sworn statement from Peter Voss claiming she had confessed to the theft.
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