Chapter 9: The Price of Proof

The audio file changed the investigation, but it also led straight to Beth.

She had found it in an archive that should have been locked months earlier. To establish where it came from, investigators requested the company’s access history. That history showed Beth had copied Adrian’s project folders to a private drive after Elias first reported the forged signature.

She had done it to preserve them. Company policy required a second approval for that kind of export. She had not waited for one.

“I can explain why,” Beth said when Elias called her into his hotel suite. “I didn’t expect Martin to keep our systems secure.”

“Neither did I.”

“Our lawyers say the original files are still on the company server. The private copy didn’t alter them.”

“Then tell the investigators exactly what you did.”

Beth looked toward the window. “Claire wants me on leave while they review it.”

Elias felt anger rise. Beth had helped him when the others doubted him; now Adrian’s scheme threatened her job.

“I’ll tell Claire I asked you to preserve the records.”

“You asked me to preserve them. You didn’t tell me to use a private drive.” She turned back to him. “Don’t take responsibility for a choice I made.”

“Adrian used every gap he could find. I won’t let him use this one to discredit you.”

“The way to protect the evidence is to be accurate.”

She placed the drive on the table. It was sealed in an evidence sleeve supplied by the company’s lawyer.

Together, they called Claire and explained the export. Beth gave the private drive to the investigators and identified the untouched originals on the server. She accepted paid leave during the review. Elias offered her legal assistance. She accepted that too.

“I know what that means for your board,” she said after the call.

“I’ve already lost their confidence once.”

“This is different.”

“Yes. This time they’ll know why I acted.”

The next day, Elias attended a board meeting remotely. Claire announced that East Point’s sale would remain paused. Martin was no longer handling financial approvals. An outside team would review the account access, the proposed transaction, and the company’s records.

Then she told Elias the cost.

Major transfers and discretionary payments would require review until the investigation was complete. That included money Elias had intended to release quickly to the yacht’s deckhand and rescue crew.

“I promised to cover their costs,” Elias said.

“You can submit the payments,” Claire replied. “They’ll be reviewed.”

“They shouldn’t have to wait because Adrian forged my signature.”

“I agree. We’ll handle urgent expenses first. But we have to establish which accounts are safe to use.”

Elias looked at the faces on the screen. No one accused him of staging the attack now. They also could not hand him back unrestricted control just because the cameras showed he had been hurt.

After the meeting, he called Owen. He explained the delay and arranged for his lawyer to document what each person was owed. He made the same call to Daniel.

Kate answered Daniel’s phone while he was driving.

“We didn’t pull you out for a bonus,” she said.

“I know. You took on work and risk because I asked.”

“Then get well. We can settle invoices when the accounts clear.”

Elias thanked her. He wished he had a better answer.

That afternoon, his lawyer brought another problem. Selene had requested access to joint financial records and challenged the company’s decision to freeze activity involving the marina. Her representative said she had been misled about the voyage and was entitled to protect her interests.

Elias set the letter down.

“She watched me go over the side.”

“She’s entitled to make a claim,” the lawyer said. “We’ll respond with the records.”

“Does she know about the audio?”

“Investigators have it. We won’t assume what they’ve disclosed to her.”

Elias asked the lawyer to keep his personal accounts separate from the company review and to document every expense paid on behalf of the crew. He wanted no informal transfer that Adrian could later portray as buying testimony.

When the lawyer left, Elias listened to the audio again on a copy cleared for his review. Adrian discussed documents. Selene’s voice cut through from somewhere across the room.

Make sure the paperwork is done before the boat trip.

He closed the player before it repeated.

A call came from a number he did not recognize. He let it go to voicemail. The message was from Martin.

“I know I helped Adrian. I gave him the video, and I kept quiet when he said he had Elias’s approval for East Point. There’s something else you need to hear. He made a recording after he met with Selene. I thought he deleted it.”

Elias forwarded the message to the investigator without calling back.

An hour later, Martin contacted the investigator directly. He had kept a copy of the recording on a company phone because Adrian had once asked him to prepare a response in case Elias “changed his mind” about the marina. Martin surrendered the phone.

Elias was told only that the file would be examined. He had learned enough about evidence to wait for its origin and completeness to be checked before building a conclusion around it.

That evening, Beth came by the hotel to collect the last of her work notes. She was formally on leave now, but she looked relieved to have given a full account.

“Martin finally talked,” Elias told her.

“About the video?”

“About something Adrian recorded.”

Beth sat down. “Do you trust him?”

“I trust that he wants to save himself. If what he kept is real, it may still help.”

They heard a knock. Elias’s lawyer entered with his phone in his hand.

“The investigator has reviewed the file Martin turned over,” he said. “There’s a section they want you to identify.”

“Why me?”

“Because they think the woman speaking is Selene. And because she mentions a second person on the boat.”

Elias looked up.

“Who?”

The lawyer’s face was grave. “She doesn’t use a name.”