Chapter 5 - THE WALLET WITH THE MISSING COMPARTMENT
The next morning, Preston Cain arrived at Rinaldi Holdings headquarters wearing a dark suit and a confident smile.
The smile vanished when he entered the conference room.
Enzo sat at the head of the table.
Silvano stood beside him.
Several attorneys were present.
And on the table lay copies of the redevelopment documents.
"Mr. Cain," Enzo said.
Preston swallowed.
"Mr. Rinaldi."
"Sit."
Cain obeyed.
Enzo opened the first folder.
"Explain Brennan's."
Cain glanced at the documents.
"Standard redevelopment."
"Standard?"
"Yes."
Enzo leaned forward.
"Did you authorize the lease increase?"
Cain hesitated.
"Through the appropriate channels."
"Did you forge my signature?"
Cain's face went white.
"No."
Enzo watched him.
Then placed another document on the table.
"Then explain this."
The meeting lasted nearly two hours.
Cain denied wrongdoing.
Blamed subordinates.
Claimed misunderstandings.
But the records told a different story.
Finally, Enzo leaned back.
"You're suspended pending investigation."
Cain stared.
"You can't—"
Enzo raised one hand.
Silence.
"You will have no access to company accounts, properties, or staff records."
Cain's jaw tightened.
"You're making a mistake."
Enzo looked at him.
"Possibly."
Then he added:
"But it won't be the mistake you're hoping for."
Cain left furious.
He entered his car.
Locked the doors.
Then opened the leather wallet Adeline had returned.
He searched it again.
Every pocket.
Every seam.
Every fold.
He was looking for a small memory card.
A card that had been hidden inside the wallet before he lost it.
A card containing records he had never intended anyone to see.
But it was gone.
Cain's hands shook.
He called a number.
A man answered.
"Did you find it?"
Cain swallowed.
"No."
Silence.
Then:
"Then you have a problem."
Across the city, Adeline sat at Brennan's kitchen table examining the folded receipt she'd kept from Sen.
She held it beneath a lamp.
Something about the paper felt strange.
The thickness.
The edge.
She unfolded it.
Then noticed a tiny transparent sleeve attached to the back.
Inside was a microSD card.
Adeline stared.
She had never noticed it before.
Her phone rang.
Enzo.
She answered.
"Hello?"
"Adeline, I need to ask you something."
She looked at the card.
"What?"
"When you returned the wallet, did you remove anything from it?"
Her heart hammered.
"No."
A pause.
May you like
Then she whispered:
"But I think I just found something."
