Chapter 3 - THE CONTRACT THAT COULD RUIN ME
The following morning, I received an email.
NOTICE OF EMPLOYMENT REVIEW.
My stomach sank.
I sat in my tiny apartment above the laundromat, staring at the screen.
Blackridge had suspended my access to payroll systems pending an internal investigation.
No explanation.
No warning.
Then another message arrived.
From Daniel.
We need to talk.
I stared at it.
For eleven months, I'd waited for messages from him.
Now I felt nothing but exhaustion.
I replied:
About what?
His answer came immediately.
Last night. Mercer. Everything.
I didn't respond.
Twenty minutes later, someone knocked.
I opened the door.
Nathaniel Mercer stood in the hallway.
No guards.
No expensive coat.
Just a dark sweater and jeans.
I stared.
“How did you find my apartment?”
He looked at me.
“Public records.”
I frowned.
“That's not reassuring.”
He smiled faintly.
“Fair.”
I stepped aside.
He entered.
His eyes moved across the small room.
Secondhand furniture.
A narrow kitchen.
A stack of unpaid bills.
A framed photograph of my mother.
He looked at the photograph.
“Your mother?”
I nodded.
“She died four years ago.”
His expression softened.
“I'm sorry.”
I folded my arms.
“Why are you here?”
He placed a folder on the table.
“Because Blackridge is preparing to accuse you of financial misconduct.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
Nathaniel opened the folder.
Inside were copies of internal documents.
My name appeared beside several unauthorized transactions.
I stared.
“I didn't approve those.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because the transactions were entered while you were at the gala.”
I looked up.
“Someone used my credentials?”
Nathaniel nodded.
I sat down.
My hands shook.
“They're framing me.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because you noticed the account.”
Silence.
Then I whispered:
“What am I supposed to do?”
Nathaniel pulled out a chair.
“First, stop talking to Blackridge without legal counsel.”
I stared.
“Second?”
“Preserve every message, document, and record you still have lawful access to.”
I looked down.
“And third?”
He paused.
“Decide whether you want to fight.”
I laughed bitterly.
“With what money?”
Nathaniel studied me.
Then said:
“Money isn't the only thing that matters.”
I looked at him.
“Easy for you to say.”
He nodded.
“Fair.”
He didn't argue.
Instead, he gave me the name of an attorney.
A woman named Rebecca Hayes.
“She specializes in employment retaliation and financial misconduct cases.”
I stared at the card.
“Why would she help me?”
“Because your case matters.”
I looked at Nathaniel.
“And what do you get?”
He paused.
“The truth about my brother.”
I studied him.
Then nodded slowly.
“All right.”
As he stood to leave, my phone rang.
Daniel.
Again.
Nathaniel glanced at the screen.
“Your choice.”
I stared.
May you like
Then declined the call.
For the first time in eleven months, I chose myself.
