Chapter 11 - After Closing
We closed early the next night.
Not because I wanted fear running my business, but because security needed time to review access points without guests in the way.
At 11:18 p.m., Tasha called me upstairs.
“Someone opened your office.”
The lock wasn’t broken.
That meant either a key or an access card.
Nothing obvious was missing until I checked the cabinet containing vendor and expansion files.
One folder was gone.
“Which one?” Ethan asked.
“Advisory proposals.”
Inside had been draft bids from three firms, including Pierce Wealth’s competitors.
My stomach dropped.
If someone took those documents, they could hand Lauren’s firm confidential pricing intelligence - or make it look as though we had.
Security logs showed the office had been opened with a temporary management badge at 10:47 p.m.
That badge belonged to no active employee.
Tasha remembered issuing it three months earlier to a refrigeration contractor.
The contractor had returned it.
Or we thought he had.
Police took another report.
At 1:06 a.m., Charles called.
“Do not send us anything from the stolen folder,” he said.
“I can’t. It’s gone.”
“I know. Delaney just emailed our executive committee claiming your restaurant group gave Lauren confidential competitor information.”
I went silent.
Ethan swore under his breath.
Charles continued. “He attached three pages from the missing folder.”
The setup was obvious now.
Steal from us.
Send it to Pierce.
Claim we had improperly shared it.
Create enough mud that nobody could tell who started dirty.
“Where is Delaney?” I asked.
“We don’t know.”
My phone chimed.
A new message.
This one included a photo of the stolen folder lying open on a car seat.
Beneath it:
TELL YOUR HUSBAND TO KEEP THE ACCOUNT WHERE IT BELONGS.
May you like
Then a second message arrived.
OR YOUR LITTLE SUCCESS STORY GETS VERY PUBLIC.
