Chapter 3 - The Evidence Hidden in Plain Sight
Sterling Dunore had built his reputation on destroying people who challenged him.
Now a twenty-eight-year-old receptionist had found evidence that could destroy him.
Emmett studied the copied records on a secure computer.
Beside him sat Gio Traumante, his longtime business adviser.
Adeline watched every movement.
She'd spent three years waiting for this moment.
And now that it had arrived, she was terrified.
Gio opened the first document.
A financial statement dated four years earlier.
It showed a transfer of $18.6 million from employee pension accounts into a private consulting company.
The transaction had been attributed to Samuel Caruso.
But the digital authorization history told a different story.
"Look here," Gio said.
He enlarged a line of information.
The original approval belonged to Sterling Dunore.
Samuel's name had been added two days later.
Emmett's jaw tightened.
"Can this be authenticated?"
Gio nodded cautiously.
"We'll need the original systems, an independent forensic review, and a proper chain of custody. But it's a strong lead."
Adeline felt hope rise in her chest.
"Then we can prove Dad was innocent?"
Emmett looked at her.
"We can start proving what happened."
The careful answer hurt.
But she appreciated that he wasn't promising a miracle.
She'd heard enough empty promises.
Gio opened another file.
A scanned letter.
Samuel Caruso had written it six weeks before his arrest.
Mr. Dunore, I will not falsify the pension records. Employees have worked their entire lives for that money.
Adeline covered her mouth.
She recognized her father's handwriting.
Even the way he crossed the letter T.
Then Gio opened the final attachment.
A surveillance recording from the company's old accounting office.
The image was grainy.
Samuel stood beside a desk.
Sterling Dunore was opposite him.
Their voices were faint.
But one sentence was clear.
"If you don't sign, Caruso, your daughter will be the one who suffers."
Adeline stopped breathing.
Her father had been protecting her.
That was why he'd confessed.
Why he'd refused to explain.
Why he'd gone to prison despite maintaining his innocence in private.
She began crying.
Emmett moved closer.
"Adeline."
She shook her head.
"He let everyone hate him because of me."
"No," Emmett said firmly.
"He made a choice because someone threatened his child. That doesn't make you responsible."
She wiped her face.
Then she noticed something strange.
The video didn't end with Samuel leaving.
Sterling returned to his desk.
He opened a drawer and removed a folder labeled:
CASTELLANO TEXTILE DISASTER — ORIGINAL REPORT.
Emmett leaned toward the screen.
His face changed.
"What is that?" Adeline asked.
He didn't answer.
Gio enlarged the image.
A photograph slipped from the folder.
It showed Emmett's mother standing outside the garment factory.
Beside her was Samuel Caruso.
And behind them stood a younger Sterling Dunore.
Emmett stared.
Then he whispered:
"My mother didn't die in an industrial accident."
Adeline turned toward him.
"What?"
May you like
His voice was barely audible.
"Someone murdered her."
