Chapter 5: The Account No One Knew Existed
Marcus answered.
He put the phone on speaker.
“Hello?””
For three seconds, there was only static.
Then a man breathed into the receiver.
“Marcus?””
Marcus’s face drained of color.
The voice was older, rougher, but unmistakably familiar.
It was his father’s voice.
Walter stared at the phone.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
Darren backed toward the wall.
Marcus couldn't speak.
The voice came again.
“Marcus, if you're hearing this, something went wrong.””
Marcus gripped the edge of the table.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
“Your father.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“No.””
“I know what that sounds like.””
Marcus opened his eyes.
“Who are you?””
“My name is Samuel Brooks.””
Evelyn whispered, “Samuel?””
Marcus looked at her.
She nodded slowly.
“Your father's attorney.””
Marcus remembered the name.
Samuel Brooks had been an attorney for Reedstone years ago.
He had vanished from the company shortly before Daniel Reed died.
Marcus spoke into the phone.
“Why are you calling me from my father's number?””
“Because your father left instructions.””
“What instructions?””
“That I contact you if payroll funds were ever diverted.””
Marcus looked at Darren.
Darren's face was completely white.
“When?””
Samuel answered.
“Today.””
Marcus frowned.
“Why today?””
“Because the system detected unauthorized access to the old reserve account.””
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
“There's an old reserve account?””
“There is,” she said quietly.
Marcus stared at her.
“You knew?””
“I knew there had been one.””
“Where is it?””
Samuel answered.
“Still active.””
Marcus’s heart began pounding.
“How much is in it?””
Samuel paused.
“Enough to change what happens next.””
Darren suddenly stepped forward.
“Hang up.””
Marcus raised his hand.
“Don't.””
Darren stopped.
Marcus asked, “Did my father know about the payroll theft?””
“No.””
“Did he know about Darren?””
“No.””
“Then why is Darren afraid of this account?””
Samuel went silent.
Marcus looked at Darren.
“Why?””
Darren shook his head.
“I don't know what he's talking about.””
Samuel’s voice came through the speaker.
“Darren Cole?””
Darren froze.
Samuel continued.
“Your father knew about him.””
Darren’s expression collapsed.
Marcus stared.
“You said my father didn't know.””
“I said he didn't know about the theft.””
“Then what did he know?””
Samuel sighed.
“He knew Darren was struggling financially.””
Darren whispered, “Stop.””
“He knew Darren had asked for help.””
Marcus looked at Darren.
“You asked my father for money?””
Darren's eyes filled with tears.
“Years ago.””
“How much?””
Darren didn't answer.
Samuel did.
“Forty thousand dollars.””
Marcus stared.
“And my father gave it to him?””
“No.””
Darren lowered his head.
Marcus waited.
Samuel said, “Your father refused.””
The room became painfully quiet.
Darren wiped his face.
“I needed that money.””
Marcus's voice was cold.
“So you stole it later.””
“No.””
“You just admitted you needed it.””
“I didn't steal from your father.””
“Then what did you steal?””
Darren looked at him.
“Nothing.””
Walter suddenly spoke.
“Then why are you shaking?””
Darren looked at Walter.
“Because this is bigger than you think.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Explain.””
Darren shook his head.
“I can't.””
“You will.””
“No.””
Marcus pointed at the phone.
“My father's attorney just called me from a number connected to my dead father's estate.””
Darren looked toward the floor.
“And you're telling me you can't explain?””
Darren whispered, “If you open that account, people are going to come after you.””
Marcus frowned.
“Who?””
Darren said nothing.
Samuel spoke.
“The account contains records, not just money.””
Marcus's attention snapped back to the phone.
“What records?””
“Transfers. Agreements. Names.””
“What names?””
“Executives.””
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
She understood immediately.
“How many?””
Samuel answered.
“Seven.””
Marcus felt the room tilt.
“Seven executives?””
“Yes.””
“From Reedstone?””
“Some current. Some former.””
Darren whispered, “Marcus, please.””
Marcus ignored him.
“Why did my father keep those records?””
“Because he suspected someone was preparing to take control of the company.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
Samuel continued.
“Your father believed someone inside Reedstone was creating a parallel financial structure.””
Evelyn looked at Darren.
“That sounds exactly like what we're seeing.””
Marcus asked, “Did my father know who?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Samuel didn't answer.
“Tell me.””
“I can't.””
Marcus's voice hardened.
“Why?””
“Because your father instructed me never to reveal the name unless the reserve account was compromised.””
Marcus looked at the payroll records.
“It is compromised.””
“Yes.””
“So tell me.””
Samuel paused.
“I need to verify you're alone.””
Marcus looked around the room.
“We're not alone.””
“Then I can't.””
Darren stepped forward.
“I'll leave.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No.””
Darren looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because you're part of this.””
“I told you I wasn't.””
Marcus pointed toward the door.
“Then prove it.””
Darren stared.
“How?””
“Give me every password you used to access payroll.””
Darren hesitated.
Marcus smiled without warmth.
“That hesitation is an answer.””
Suddenly, Evelyn’s laptop chimed.
She looked at the screen.
Then froze.
Marcus noticed.
“What?””
She didn't respond.
“What is it?””
Evelyn turned the laptop around.
An internal alert had appeared.
*UNAUTHORIZED TRANSFER DETECTED.*
Marcus stepped closer.
“From where?””
Evelyn clicked it.
Her face went pale.
“The reserve account.””
Marcus looked at Samuel.
“Who is moving the money?””
“I don't know.””
“How much?””
Evelyn stared at the screen.
“Twenty-five thousand.””
Marcus grabbed his phone.
“Stop the transfer.””
“I can't.””
“Call the bank.””
“I already did.””
“And?””
“They said the transfer was authorized using your executive credentials.””
Marcus went still.
Again.
His credentials.
He looked at Darren.
Darren shook his head.
“It wasn't me.””
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
“Then who has access?””
She slowly opened the authorization log.
One user appeared.
*MARCUS REED — EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR.*
Marcus whispered, “Someone is inside my account.””
Samuel said, “Marcus, listen to me.””
“What?””
“Your father prepared a second layer of protection.””
“What kind?””
“You need to go to his old office.””
Marcus stared.
“My father’s office was demolished.””
“No.””
Samuel’s voice was firm.
“It wasn't.””
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
She seemed confused.
Samuel continued.
“Your father had the office sealed before his death.””
“Where?””
Samuel gave him an address.
Marcus recognized it immediately.
The old Reedstone warehouse.
The building had been empty for nearly a decade.
Marcus grabbed his coat.
Walter stood.
“Where are you going?””
“To find out what my father was hiding.””
Darren moved toward the door.
Marcus blocked him.
“You're coming.””
Darren shook his head.
“No.””
“You know something.””
“I told you—”
“You're coming.””
Darren's eyes hardened.
“If I go with you, people will know.””
Marcus leaned closer.
“People already know.””
Darren stared at him.
Then quietly said, “You really don't understand what you're walking into.””
Marcus opened the door.
“Then you'd better explain on the way.””
They stepped into the lobby.
Employees looked up.
Marcus walked past the reception desk with Walter and Evelyn behind him.
Then the security phone rang.
Walter answered automatically.
“Reedstone Security.””
A woman spoke.
Walter's expression changed.
He slowly handed the phone to Marcus.
“It's for you.””
Marcus took it.
“Marcus Reed.””
The woman whispered.
“Your father didn't die because of natural causes.””
Marcus stopped walking.
Evelyn froze behind him.
Darren closed his eyes.
Marcus tightened his grip on the receiver.
“Who is this?””
The woman didn't answer.
Instead, she said four words.
“Check the death certificate.””
Then the line went dead.
Marcus stared at the phone.
May you like
And for the first time that morning, the missing payroll wasn't the thing that frightened him.
It was the possibility that everything he believed about his father's death had been a lie.