Chapter 3 - THE MAN ADRIAN CALLED FAMILY
Adrian did not confront Victor.
That surprised me.
Instead, he became terrifyingly calm.
“Rebecca, preserve everything.”
She nodded.
“Emma, who has access to Northstar invoices?”
“Finance, legal, executive strategy, and your office.”
“Pull only what your job normally permits.”
I understood immediately.
No shortcuts.
No illegal access.
No emotional mistakes.
For the rest of the evening, I worked through documents I had legitimately handled over the previous two years.
Patterns emerged quickly.
Northstar billed Kane Global for consulting tied to international acquisitions.
Large amounts.
Always approved by the board chairman.
Victor.
That alone was not necessarily wrong.
Board members can disclose related-party interests and follow proper procedures.
The problem was disclosure.
I searched the annual conflict-of-interest schedule.
Northstar did not appear.
Not once.
At 8:10 p.m., I found something worse.
A certification attached to a $15 million trust transfer.
Approved by:
Adrian Kane, Guardian Representative.
Adrian stared at it.
“I never signed that.”
The electronic signature looked real.
Rebecca asked:
“Were you in New York on April 17 three years ago?”
Adrian’s face changed.
“No.”
“Where were you?”
He looked toward Noah, who had fallen asleep on his office sofa.
“At Memorial Sloan Kettering.”
My chest tightened.
Celeste had been in treatment.
Adrian spent nearly every day beside her during those final months.
The signature timestamp claimed he had electronically approved the transfer at 2:16 p.m.
Adrian checked his phone archive.
At 2:16 p.m. on that date, he had been inside Celeste’s oncology consultation.
The hospital had visitor records.
Calendar logs.
Messages.
Everything.
Rebecca leaned back.
“If someone used your credentials, we need digital forensics.”
Adrian’s voice was ice.
“Do it.”
The next morning, Victor walked into Adrian’s office smiling.
I had never been more aware of another human being entering a room.
“Adrian. You canceled yesterday’s investor dinner.”
“Yes.”
“Everything alright?”
“Fine.”
Victor noticed me.
“Ms. Reed.”
“Mr. Kane.”
I had spent two years thinking Victor was charming.
Now I watched him differently.
His eyes lingered on the blue folder beside Rebecca’s briefcase.
Only half a second.
But Adrian saw it too.
Victor’s smile tightened.
“Family business?”
Adrian leaned back.
“You could say that.”
Victor sat without being invited.
“I heard outside counsel requested trust records.”
There it was.
He already knew.
Rebecca said nothing.
Victor looked at Adrian.
“If this is about Celeste’s old concerns, she was sick. She misunderstood complicated investment structures.”
The room changed.
Adrian’s face went completely still.
“You knew she was investigating?”
Victor realized the mistake.
“I knew she had questions.”
“You told me she never involved herself in trust management.”
“She didn’t.”
“You just said she misunderstood investment structures.”
Silence.
Victor recovered quickly.
“Adrian, grief can make people remember conversations differently.”
I saw Adrian’s hands tighten beneath the desk.
Rebecca intervened.
“This discussion should continue through counsel.”
Victor smiled.
“Of course.”
Then he stood.
At the door, he turned toward me.
“Be careful, Ms. Reed.”
Adrian’s voice sharpened.
“What does that mean?”
Victor shrugged.
“Employees who become involved in family disputes rarely enjoy the outcome.”
He left.
Adrian immediately stood.
“I want him removed from the building.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Not yet.”
I agreed.
“If he believes you’re still uncertain, he may make mistakes.”
Adrian looked at me.
Something changed in his expression.
Respect.
Maybe surprise.
Then his phone rang.
Cybersecurity.
The digital approval for the $15 million transfer had not originated from Adrian’s device.
It came from an executive terminal inside Kane Global.
Terminal identification:
VK-01.
Victor Kane’s personal office computer.
But that was not the only discovery.
Someone had accessed Celeste’s private Kane email account three days after her death.
May you like
From the same terminal.
And downloaded every message she had sent about Noah’s trust.
