By Friday morning, Rosie's photograph had become a reference point in the investigation, although the company still had not obtained the original email from the source. Mercer was careful to distinguish the image from authenticated evidence. The investigators needed the original message, its metadata, and the surrounding correspondence before drawing conclusions about what it meant.
Victor's attorney was informed that the company had received information suggesting that he might have known about Daniel Pierce's involvement before Northbridge Advisory was selected. He was given an opportunity to address the issue through the established process.
His response arrived shortly after lunch.
Victor maintained that he had not knowingly authorized improper payments. He acknowledged having discussed a possible consulting arrangement with Daniel but described the conversation as preliminary. According to his account, the vendor selection had been handled by staff who were responsible for evaluating proposals and confirming the commercial terms.
It was a plausible explanation in the abstract. Executives routinely discuss potential business opportunities with people they know. The question was whether Victor had disclosed the relationship, followed the procurement rules, and ensured that Halden received the services for which it paid.
The investigation continued.
Meanwhile, Rosie had begun contacting relatives individually. I learned this from my cousin Daniel, who called me that afternoon and asked whether I was willing to meet for coffee. He had been one of the guests at the dinner, and he sounded uncomfortable enough that I agreed.
We met at a café near the financial district. He arrived carrying a paper bag from a bakery and spent several minutes talking about traffic before finally addressing the reason for the meeting.
“Rosie called me last night,” he said.
“What did she want?”
“She wanted to know whether I thought the family was turning against her.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That I didn't know what the investigation would establish.”
He rubbed his hands around his cup. “She said you had been waiting for years to embarrass her.”
I looked at him. “Do you believe that?”
“No.”
“Then why are we discussing it?”
He gave a tired smile. “Because she's my cousin, too, and I don't know how to help her.”
I understood the impulse. For years, the family had treated Rosie's distress as a problem everyone needed to solve. Her feelings became urgent obligations, while mine were postponed until the room was quiet again.
“You can help her by telling her the truth,” I said. “If she has relevant information, she should give it to her lawyer and cooperate with the proper process. If she needs financial advice, help her find someone independent. But don't tell her the investigation is a betrayal just because she dislikes the questions.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“She said something else,” he added. “She said you had always been jealous of her.”
I almost laughed, but the sound never came.
“Did she explain what I was supposedly jealous of?”
“The house. Victor's job. Their lifestyle.”
I watched a barista wipe a table near the window. “I was jealous once.”
Daniel looked surprised.
“Not of the house,” I continued. “I was jealous of how easily she received help. When we were younger, I wanted our parents to believe I was worth helping, too. I thought if I worked hard enough, they would eventually see me the way they saw her.”
“What changed?”
“I stopped trying to earn a place in a family that had already decided what my place was.”
He was quiet for a moment.
“I should have said something at dinner,” he admitted.
“Yes,” I said. “You should have.”
He lowered his eyes. I could have reassured him that it was understandable, that family situations were complicated, that nobody knew what to do. But those were the same excuses we had used for years, and they had never changed anything.
“I'm not asking you to fight with Rosie,” I said. “I'm asking you not to pretend you didn't see what happened.”
When we parted, Daniel shook my hand rather than offering the awkward hug he had attempted at the dinner. I respected him for that. It was a small gesture, but at least it acknowledged that our relationship had changed.
On Saturday, I received a call from a lawyer representing Rosie independently of Victor. She had retained counsel after our conversation and had authorized her attorney to contact the company about preserving and producing potentially relevant documents.
The lawyer was measured and professional. She made it clear that Rosie was not making an admission of wrongdoing. She wanted guidance on the appropriate procedure for supplying records she had discovered in the family home.
Mercer arranged for the materials to be collected through counsel, with a clear record of what was received and when. The company did not ask Rosie to interpret the documents or speculate about Victor's intentions. The original messages and related records would speak for themselves once authenticated and reviewed.
That evening, Rosie called me again.
“I spoke to my lawyer,” she said.
“Good.”
“She says I need to tell the truth about everything I know.”
“That sounds sensible.”
“Even things that might make Victor angry.”
“Yes.”
She took a shaky breath. “I remembered something about Northbridge. Daniel called me last year and asked whether Victor could help his company get a contract. He said he was struggling to get anyone to take his proposal seriously.”
“Did you discuss it with Victor?”
“I told him Daniel was having trouble with work. Victor said he would look at the proposal.”
“Did you know Halden might pay Northbridge?”
“Not then. I thought Victor was just giving him advice.”
I remained silent, allowing her to continue.
“A few weeks later, Daniel thanked me for helping him. He said the contract would change everything for him. I asked what contract he meant, and he said Victor had helped him get consulting work.”
“Did you ask Victor about it?”
“Yes. He told me it was a legitimate arrangement and that the company needed outside advice.”
“Did you receive money from Daniel?”
She hesitated.
“Rosie?”
“Daniel gave me money once,” she said. “He called it a thank-you. It was a transfer to my personal account.”
“How much?”
“Fifteen thousand dollars.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
“Did you tell Victor?”
“He knew about it. He said Daniel was repaying a favor and that it was none of the company's business.”
“Did you ask what favor?”
“He said Daniel had needed help when his business was struggling. I thought Victor had loaned him money.”
“Did you receive any documents explaining the transfer?”
“No.”
“Have you kept the records?”
“Yes. They're in my bank statements.”
“Give that information to your lawyer. Don't try to reconstruct the story from memory if you can verify it through the records.”
She was crying now, but her voice remained clear enough for me to understand.
“Does this mean I'm in trouble?”
“I can't tell you what the investigators will conclude. The transfer is relevant, and they will need to understand why it happened. That's why your lawyer needs the complete information.”
“I didn't know they were taking money from the company.”
“I understand that you're saying you didn't know. The investigation will need to establish what you knew and when.”
She sniffed and fell silent.
For a moment, I wanted to tell her that everything would be all right. The words were familiar, comforting, and almost certainly beyond anything I could promise. I had spent too many years watching people use reassurance as a substitute for action.
Instead, I said, “You did the right thing by telling your lawyer.”
“Do you hate me?”
The question caught me off guard.
“No.”
“You must.”
“I don't hate you, Rosie.”
“Then why does it feel as though you're punishing me?”
“Because I'm no longer willing to protect you from every consequence.”
She began to speak, stopped, and tried again.
“I never thought you would become someone who could do this to me.”
I looked around my apartment. The room was quiet, and the only light came from the lamp beside the sofa. There were no family photographs on the shelves, no expensive decorations chosen to impress visitors, and no evidence of a life arranged around anyone else's approval.
“I'm not doing this to you,” I said. “I'm refusing to interfere with an investigation.”
“But you could have warned me.”
“I didn't know what you knew. I still don't know everything you know.”
She did not answer.
“Rosie, I need you to understand something. If the records show that you didn't know what was happening, that matters. If they show you received money without understanding its source, that matters, too. But if you hide information because you're afraid of what it might mean, you make it harder for anyone to distinguish those possibilities.”
“I understand.”
“I hope you do.”
After the call, I informed Mercer that Rosie's attorney had identified a personal transfer that might be relevant to the vendor investigation. I provided no opinion about its meaning. The company requested the supporting records through counsel, and the investigators added the transfer to the questions requiring review.
On Monday morning, I received an authenticated copy of the email chain Rosie had first photographed. The original messages had been preserved and supplied through the proper process. Their metadata confirmed the dates, and the surrounding correspondence provided additional context.
Daniel had approached Victor about the consulting contract. Victor had responded that he would ensure the proposal received proper consideration. That statement alone did not establish misconduct. But a later message referred to the payment to Rosie as a personal thank-you, and Victor had acknowledged that the transfer had occurred.
In another email, a finance manager had asked Victor to confirm whether Northbridge had disclosed its relationship with Daniel. Victor had replied that the matter was being handled and instructed the manager to proceed with the payment.
The wording did not prove that Victor had intended to defraud the company. It did establish that he had been directly involved in decisions that required closer scrutiny, and it raised serious questions about whether he had properly disclosed the conflict.
Elaine scheduled another interview with Victor's attorney. The board was informed that the evidence had developed, but no final determination was announced.
I should have felt vindicated. Instead, I felt the familiar heaviness of watching people approach a truth they had spent years avoiding.
Rosie had not been innocent of every relevant decision simply because she had not designed the payment system. She had accepted money without demanding a clear explanation, and she had trusted Victor's reassurance because the arrangement benefited her. Whether she had understood more than she now admitted remained a question for the investigation.
But she had finally begun providing information rather than demanding protection.
That evening, a message arrived from her.
It was not about Victor's job or the house.
She asked whether I remembered the money our parents had promised to repay me when I was younger.
I read the message twice before answering.
I remembered every dollar.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: The Money My Parents Had Taken From My Future Finally Came Up, and the Explanation They Offered Revealed How Long They Had Misjudged Me
Thirty Guests Watched My Sister Humiliate Me, Unaware That Her Husband’s Most Important Secret Was Sitting at the Table
Part 7 of 12
