Chapter 3: The Other Names
Marcus had spent twenty years building Reedstone Logistics from a rented warehouse into a company with three hundred employees.
He had fired people for stealing company equipment.
He had terminated managers for falsifying time sheets.
He had even once shut down an entire department after discovering a supervisor was manipulating overtime.
But he had never seen anyone steal from employees this quietly.
No threats.
No forged checks.
No envelopes of cash.
Just numbers.
A thousand here.
Five hundred there.
Hidden behind words like “administrative adjustment.””
Marcus looked at Darren.
“Put the phone on the table.””
Darren shook his head.
“I can’t.””
“You can.””
“This is private.””
Marcus laughed once.
“Private?””
He pointed toward Walter.
“That man is missing nine thousand dollars.””
Darren said nothing.
Marcus continued.
“And you’re standing in my conference room telling me your phone is private?””
Darren’s jaw tightened.
“I didn’t take anything.””
Walter stared at him.
“Then why are you scared?””
Darren turned.
“I’m not scared.””
“You are,” Walter said.
Darren’s eyes flashed.
“Watch yourself.””
Marcus stepped between them.
“Don’t talk to him like that.””
Darren looked at Marcus.
“I’m trying to protect this company.””
“No.””
Marcus’s voice was quiet.
“You’re trying to protect yourself.””
The room fell silent.
Darren’s phone vibrated again.
Marcus looked down.
The screen briefly lit up.
A message preview appeared.
*THEY KNOW ABOUT THE SECOND ACCOUNT.*
Darren immediately flipped the phone face down.
Marcus saw it.
Walter saw it too.
“What second account?”” Walter asked.
Darren stood.
“This meeting is over.””
Marcus blocked the door.
“No, it isn’t.””
“Move.””
“No.””
Darren’s nostrils flared.
“I’m your security manager.””
“And I’m the owner.””
“You can’t detain me.””
“I’m not detaining you.””
Marcus stepped aside.
“I’m asking you to stay.””
Darren stared at him.
Then slowly sat back down.
Marcus opened his laptop.
“Tell me about the second account.””
“There is no second account.””
Walter shook his head.
“That message said there was.””
Darren glared at him.
“Stop pretending you understand what you saw.””
Walter’s voice became steadier.
“I understand enough.””
Marcus looked at Darren.
“Who else has access to the payroll portal?””
Darren didn’t answer.
Marcus typed.
The system displayed a list of administrators.
Darren Cole.
Payroll Services.
Human Resources.
Finance.
Marcus clicked Darren’s account.
Access history appeared.
Walter leaned forward.
Marcus scrolled.
“Interesting.””
Darren said nothing.
Marcus pointed at the timestamps.
“Your account accessed Walter’s payroll records at 2:14 a.m. on January 8.””
Darren rubbed his forehead.
“Managers work late.””
“On January 8?””
“Yes.””
“You accessed the account again at 1:47 a.m. on February 6.””
“I told you. I work late.””
“And March 9.””
Darren’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re obsessed with timestamps.””
Marcus kept scrolling.
“April 7.””
Silence.
“May 6.””
Walter whispered, “Every month.””
Marcus nodded.
“Exactly.””
Darren leaned back.
“You don’t understand how payroll administration works.””
“Then educate me.””
Darren looked at the ceiling.
“It’s complicated.””
“Try me.””
Darren remained silent.
Marcus opened the bank details.
“The account receiving Walter’s money is not owned by Reedstone.””
Darren said nothing.
“It isn’t owned by Walter.””
Still nothing.
“It’s attached to a third-party payroll service.””
Darren finally spoke.
“Exactly.””
Marcus looked up.
“And who created the account?””
Darren swallowed.
“I don’t know.””
Marcus clicked the account profile.
A name appeared.
*Cole Administrative Consulting LLC.*
Walter stared.
“Cole?””
Darren closed his eyes.
Marcus slowly looked at him.
“Your company?””
“It’s a legitimate consulting entity.””
“You own it.””
“Yes.””
“You never disclosed it.””
“I didn’t think it was relevant.””
Marcus stared at him.
“You created a company that receives payroll deductions from my employees.””
Darren’s voice rose.
“They weren’t deductions.””
“Then what were they?””
“Temporary allocations.””
Walter slammed his palm against the table.
“My money!””
Darren flinched.
“That money was held temporarily.””
“For six months?””
Darren looked away.
Marcus stood.
“Where is it?””
Darren said nothing.
“Where is Walter’s nine thousand dollars?””
“I can’t answer that.””
“You can.””
“No.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Then I’ll ask another question.””
Darren looked up.
Marcus pointed at the laptop.
“How many employees?””
Darren’s face went still.
Marcus repeated himself.
“How many employees had money routed through your company?””
Darren swallowed.
“I don’t know.””
Marcus opened the security department roster.
Twenty-three guards.
He pulled up the first employee.
The system showed the same pattern.
Three thousand authorized.
Fifteen hundred deposited.
Marcus’s stomach tightened.
He opened the second.
Same.
Third.
Same.
Walter slowly stood.
“How many?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
He opened the fourth.
Then the fifth.
Then the sixth.
Every record contained the same hidden adjustment.
Darren stared at the floor.
Walter’s eyes filled with tears.
“They took it from all of us.””
Marcus closed his laptop.
“Darren.””
Darren looked up.
“You’re going to tell me exactly what happened.””
Darren shook his head.
“You won’t understand.””
“Try.””
“It started small.””
Walter laughed bitterly.
“Of course it did.””
Darren looked at him.
“Your department was over budget.””
Marcus frowned.
“What does that have to do with stealing wages?””
“I wasn’t stealing.””
“You were redirecting money.””
“I intended to replace it.””
Marcus stared at him.
“With what?””
Darren didn’t answer.
Walter whispered, “He gambled it.””
Darren’s face snapped toward him.
“I did not gamble your money.””
Walter stepped forward.
“Then where is it?””
Darren’s mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Marcus’s phone rang.
He answered.
“Marcus Reed.””
A woman’s voice came through.
“Mr. Reed, this is Evelyn from Finance.””
Marcus looked at Darren.
“Yes?””
“We found something you need to see.””
“What?””
“There are additional payroll accounts.””
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“How many?””
A pause.
“Twenty-seven.””
Walter covered his mouth.
Darren stood abruptly.
“No.””
Marcus turned toward him.
“You knew?””
Darren shook his head.
“I didn’t authorize those.””
Marcus stared at him.
“Then who did?””
“I don’t know.””
The woman on the phone spoke again.
“Mr. Reed, there’s more.””
Marcus put the call on speaker.
Evelyn continued.
“The accounts were created under different names, but the authorization trail leads back to one administrator.””
Marcus looked at Darren.
“Who?””
Evelyn hesitated.
Then said a name.
Marcus’s face changed.
Darren looked like he had seen a ghost.
Walter whispered, “Who?””
Marcus slowly lowered the phone.
The name on the screen belonged to someone who had been working at Reedstone even longer than Darren.
Someone Marcus had trusted with access to every payroll record in the company.
Someone who had just sent Marcus an email that morning.
The subject line was:
*RESIGNATION — EFFECTIVE TODAY.*
Marcus opened it.
There was only one sentence inside.
*If you investigate the payroll, you’ll discover who really owns this company.*
Walter stared at Marcus.
“Mr. Reed…”
Marcus looked toward the conference room door.
Outside, employees were moving through the bright lobby, unaware that the company’s payroll system was beginning to unravel.
Then the door handle slowly turned.
May you like
Someone was standing on the other side.
And before Marcus could say a word, the door opened.