“The cameras will establish what it is.”
The same employees who had watched silently now began avoiding Riley’s eyes.
She noticed.
Witnesses were useful when she controlled the story.
They became dangerous when there was a recording.
A company physician was called upstairs.
She examined my cheek, checked my blood pressure, listened to the babies’ heartbeats, and insisted I be monitored more thoroughly later that afternoon.
Three steady rhythms filled the small executive lounge.
Only then did I realize how tightly I had been holding myself together.
Mason stood beside the examination table, one hand braced against its edge.
When the doctor said the babies sounded strong, his eyes closed for one brief second.
I had never seen relief look so painful.
Afterward, he crouched in front of my chair.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“It happened too fast.”
“When she first confronted you.”
“I thought I could handle her.”
“You shouldn’t have had to.”
That sentence broke through something inside me.
All my life I had been praised whenever I survived something alone.
Nobody had ever suggested survival should not have been required.
I looked toward the closed conference-room door.
“What was in Rocco’s folder?”
Mason was quiet.
“Something unrelated to the necklace.”
“Related to Riley?”
“Yes.”
I waited.
He seemed to understand that keeping secrets from me now would be another kind of betrayal.
“This morning, Rocco noticed Riley accessing the executive floor through credentials belonging to a Grayson consulting account that should have expired months ago.”
I frowned.
“Why does she have company access at all?”
“The Grayson firm previously consulted on a design acquisition.”
“And the records?”
“She had been visiting this floor before today.”
My stomach tightened for an entirely different reason.
“How often?”
“Enough that I asked for a review.”
“Why?”
Mason studied me.
“Because the first time your name appeared on the consultant roster, someone inside the company searched your personnel file, your schedule, and the security designation attached to you.”
I stared at him.
“My security designation?”
“Rocco flagged you internally because of the pregnancy.
It did not identify you as my wife, but it restricted access to your medical and personal information.”
“And someone tried to open it?”
“Yes.”
The cold feeling in my chest spread.
“Riley?”
“We don’t know yet.”
The conference room was full when Mason finally allowed me to join them.
Eleanor sat at the head of the table.
Rocco stood near a wall screen that remained dark; no sensitive information was displayed where anyone outside the investigation could see it.
Two senior company attorneys had arrived.
Riley sat opposite them with her arms crossed.
Her confidence had partially returned.
