Chapter 11 - The Night at Carter Farm
Daniel drove faster than Claire had ever seen him drive.
Police were already heading toward the farm.
Ethan sat beside Claire in the back seat.
She called Susan seventeen times.
No answer.
“Lily is with her.”
Ethan held her hand.
“I know.”
“What if—”
“Don’t.”
His voice shook.
“Don’t finish that sentence.”
They reached the property and found three police vehicles near the farmhouse.
Claire tried to jump from the car before it stopped.
An officer blocked her.
“My mother and daughter are inside!”
“They’re safe.”
Claire nearly collapsed.
“Safe?”
“They’re with an officer.”
Susan emerged from the side of the house carrying Lily.
Claire ran.
She grabbed her mother and daughter at the same time.
Lily started crying.
Susan’s face was pale.
“He never got upstairs.”
“What happened?”
“The police came through the front. He ran out the kitchen.”
“Did they catch him?”
“No.”
Daniel walked toward his office.
The window was shattered.
Drawers had been opened.
Files covered the floor.
The safe door stood open.
Daniel stopped.
Claire noticed.
“What?”
He crossed the room.
“Nothing valuable is missing.”
“Then what did he want?”
Daniel looked at an empty space on a shelf.
“My supplier archive.”
“What’s that?”
“Historical contracts. Vendor access records. Security reports.”
Michael arrived shortly after.
He examined the room.
“This wasn’t robbery.”
Daniel nodded.
“They wanted evidence.”
Police found footprints leading to the rear fence.
No usable fingerprints.
But a neighbor’s security camera captured a black sedan leaving the area.
The license plate was stolen.
Ethan looked at Michael.
“Whoever this is, they knew about the investigation.”
Michael nodded.
“Which means information is still leaking.”
From Carter.
From Whitmore.
Or from both.
That evening Daniel gathered senior Carter executives at the processing center.
He said only one thing.
“Until further notice, no one gets unrestricted system access.”
Employees were stunned.
Daniel ordered a full cybersecurity audit.
The result came faster than expected.
At 6:30 the next morning, Carter’s IT director entered Daniel’s office.
“We found an old administrative account.”
Daniel looked up.
“Whose?”
“It belonged to a former employee.”
“Name?”
The director hesitated.
“Robert Keller.”
Daniel went still.
Claire was beside him.
“Who is Robert Keller?”
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
“Dad?”
“He was my chief financial officer.”
“When?”
“Ten years ago.”
“What happened?”
“I fired him.”
“For what?”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“Stealing.”
Keller had manipulated equipment invoices and taken kickbacks from vendors.
Daniel discovered it.
Rather than prosecute immediately, he allowed Keller to repay part of the money and resign because Keller’s wife was dying of cancer.
Claire stared at him.
“You let him go?”
“Yes.”
“Did Richard know him?”
Daniel frowned.
“I don’t know.”
Michael searched public records.
Within an hour, he found Robert Keller’s current employer.
Harrison Consolidated Foods.
Director of Strategic Procurement.
Daniel sat back.
“There’s our connection.”
Keller knew Carter’s systems.
Harrison knew Whitmore’s weakness.
Richard wanted Carter’s contracts.
Everything connected.
They gave the information to federal investigators.
By afternoon, Robert Keller had disappeared.
Again.
One step behind.
Always.
Ethan received another surprise.
Whitmore’s board appointed him temporary chief operating officer.
He refused initially.
“I’m part of the investigation.”
The chairman said, “You’re also one of the few executives not under suspicion from outside parties.”
“That’s not exactly inspiring.”
“We need someone employees trust.”
Ethan laughed.
“They barely know me.”
“Then give them a reason.”
Claire was surprised when Ethan told her.
“Are you going to accept?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why not?”
“Because this company destroyed our marriage.”
Claire looked at him.
“No.”
He frowned.
“Your fear did.”
Ethan looked away.
She continued.
“The company didn’t tell you to stay silent.”
“No.”
“Richard did.”
“Yes.”
“And you listened.”
Ethan nodded.
Claire touched Lily’s blanket.
“You don’t fix that by running away from every part of your old life.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying if hundreds of employees need someone to prevent Richard’s mistakes from destroying their jobs, maybe you should try.”
Ethan looked at her with surprise.
“You want me back at Whitmore?”
“I want you to decide what kind of man you are when no one else makes the decision for you.”
The next morning, Ethan accepted.
His first act shocked everyone.
He canceled executive bonuses.
His second shocked Richard.
Ethan announced he would sell the company aircraft.
His third shocked employees most.
He held an open meeting in the main warehouse.
No stage.
No polished speech.
“I can’t promise every job is safe,” he told them.
“I can promise no executive will protect his salary before protecting your paycheck.”
For the first time in years, workers applauded a Whitmore.
Richard saw the video online.
He watched his son speaking to employees.
Then closed the laptop.
Margaret was packing a suitcase behind him.
“Where are you going?”
She did not turn.
“My sister’s.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
Richard stared at her.
“You’re leaving me now?”
She folded another sweater.
“No.”
She finally faced him.
“I left years ago.”
He looked wounded.
Margaret almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Then Richard’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man spoke.
“Mr. Whitmore?”
“Who is this?”
“Someone who knows Victor Harrison.”
Richard’s expression changed.
“What do you want?”
“To tell you that Ethan is in more danger than he realizes.”
Richard stood.
“Why?”
The man laughed softly.
“Because Victor doesn’t want Whitmore Food Distribution anymore.”
“What does he want?”
May you like
A pause.
“He wants it dead.”
