Chapter 11
Everyone had looked at the picture earlier that night.
But no one had noticed the woman standing beside him.
She was younger.
Her hair was long and dark.
Her arm was wrapped around Benjamin's.
Benjamin followed Tiffany's eyes.
Then he spoke.
“She was my wife.”
Tiffany's face changed.
Benjamin continued.
“She was also the person who convinced me to build this company.”
Margaret sat beside him.
Benjamin gave a bitter smile.
“I had ideas.”
He looked at the photograph.
“Elena had courage.”
Richard nodded slowly.
“That sounds right.”
Benjamin glanced at him.
“She was smarter than me too.”
For the first time, Richard smiled.
“That definitely sounds right.”
Benjamin almost smiled back.
But the expression disappeared quickly.
Tiffany looked confused.
“What happened to her?”
Benjamin stared at the table.
“Twenty years ago, she disappeared.”
Nobody moved.
Benjamin continued.
“She left the house one morning.”
His voice became quieter.
“And she never came back.”
Tiffany whispered.
“Did the police find her?”
Benjamin shook his head.
“No.”
Karen looked toward him.
“There was never a body?”
Benjamin nodded.
“No.”
“Then why did everyone believe she was dead?”
Benjamin stared at the window.
“Because eventually, when enough years pass, people stop asking questions.”
The words settled heavily over the room.
Richard Coleman slowly walked toward the wall.
He looked at the photograph.
“I never believed she was dead.”
Benjamin looked at him.
Richard turned around.
“You did.”
Benjamin's expression hardened.
“I had to.”
“No.”
Richard shook his head.
“You chose to.”
The room became tense.
Margaret looked toward Richard.
But Benjamin raised one hand.
“Let him speak.”
Richard looked directly at his old friend.
“For years, you refused to talk about her.”
Benjamin remained silent.
“You refused to hire investigators.”
Benjamin's jaw tightened.
“I hired three.”
“For the first year.”
Benjamin looked away.
Richard continued.
“Then you stopped.”
“Because there was nothing left to find.”
Richard shook his head.
“Or because finding nothing was easier than finding out why she left.”
Benjamin stood.
The chair behind him moved sharply.
“Be careful.”
Richard did not move.
“No.”
The room froze.
Richard's voice became stronger.
“I have spent twenty years watching you turn that pain into a wall.”
Benjamin stared at him.
“And now that wall has finally cracked.”
Margaret stepped between them.
“Enough.”
But Benjamin spoke.
“No.”
He looked at Richard.
“What are you saying?”
Richard took a deep breath.
“I am saying Elena was afraid before she disappeared.”
Benjamin's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
The room became completely silent.
Richard realized he had said too much.
Benjamin stepped closer.
“What did you just say?”
Richard looked at the floor.
“Richard.”
Benjamin's voice became firm.
“What did you know?”
Margaret's expression changed.
She looked at Richard.
“You knew something?”
Richard closed his eyes.
Benjamin's hands curled into fists.
“Twenty years.”
His voice shook.
“You knew something for twenty years?”
Richard looked up.
“I didn't know enough.”
Benjamin stared at him.
Richard continued.
“Two weeks before Elena disappeared, she came to me.”
Benjamin stopped breathing.
“What did she say?”
Richard looked toward the others.
Then back at Benjamin.
“She told me someone had been following her.”
Nobody spoke.
Benjamin felt as though the room had suddenly become smaller.
The walls seemed closer.
The air heavier.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Benjamin stepped closer.
“What do you mean you don't know?”
“She didn't tell me.”
Benjamin's voice rose.
“You never told me?”
Richard's expression filled with regret.
“She made me promise.”
Benjamin laughed.
A cold, angry sound.
“She disappeared, Richard.”
“I know.”
“And you kept her secret?”
“I thought she was scared of something personal.”
Benjamin stared at him.
Richard continued.
“She said she didn't want you involved.”
Benjamin turned away.
His hands covered his face.
For twenty years, he had blamed himself.
He had wondered whether he had worked too much.
Whether he had ignored her.
Whether his obsession with building Anderson Holdings had pushed her away.
He had replayed their final conversation hundreds of times.
Thousands.
Now he discovered that Elena had been afraid.
And Richard had known.
Benjamin lowered his hands.
“Who was following her?”
Richard shook his head.
“I never found out.”
“Did you see him?”
“No.”
“Did she describe him?”
“No.”
Benjamin stared at him.
“Then what did she say?”
Richard hesitated.
“She said…”
Benjamin stepped forward.
“What?”
Richard swallowed.
“She said she had discovered something connected to the company.”
The room froze.
Margaret slowly turned toward Daniel.
Daniel's face had lost its color.
Benjamin looked from Richard to Daniel.
“What did she discover?”
Richard shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Benjamin stared at him.
Richard continued.
“She was looking through some financial records.”
Karen immediately moved toward her laptop.
“What year?”
Richard thought for a moment.
“Two thousand and six.”
Karen stopped.
“That was during the Pinnacle expansion.”
Daniel looked up sharply.
Benjamin noticed.
“Daniel?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know anything about Elena.”
Benjamin's voice became cold.
“I didn't ask whether you knew Elena.”
Daniel remained silent.
“I asked what happened during the Pinnacle expansion.”
Daniel looked at Margaret.
Then back at Benjamin.
“It was a complicated period.”
Benjamin stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel hesitated.
“There were financial problems.”
Benjamin frowned.
“What financial problems?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Some projects were over budget.”
Benjamin stepped toward him.
“How much?”
Daniel did not answer.
Benjamin slammed his hand against the table.
“How much?”
Margaret flinched.
Daniel finally spoke.
“Nearly thirty million.”
Silence.
Tiffany stared at him.
Benjamin's face hardened.
“Thirty million dollars.”
Daniel nodded.
“Benjamin, it was handled.”
“By whom?”
Daniel said nothing.
Benjamin stared at him.
“By whom?”
Daniel whispered.
“Your former chief financial officer.”
Benjamin froze.
The name came back to him immediately.
Walter Grayson.
For years, Walter had been one of Benjamin's closest business partners.
He had helped build Anderson Holdings.
He had attended family dinners.
He had known Elena.
Benjamin slowly turned toward the photograph.
Walter had even been present at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Benjamin could see him now.
Standing behind Elena.
Smiling at the camera.
Richard watched Benjamin carefully.
“Walter died twelve years ago.”
Benjamin nodded.
“I know.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“There were rumors at the time.”
Benjamin turned.
“What rumors?”
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“That money had been moved through shell companies.”
Karen and David exchanged a look.
Benjamin noticed.
“The same kind of structure we found in Craig Holloway's department.”
No one answered.
Benjamin's expression changed.
He looked at David Lang.
“Could these cases be connected?”
David considered the question.
“It's too early to say.”
Benjamin stared at him.
“But?”
David took a breath.
“But if the financial systems were poorly controlled for years, it's possible Mr. Holloway learned how to exploit weaknesses that already existed.”
Craig.
Walter.
Missing money.
And Elena.
Benjamin suddenly realized that the events of the night might not be separate at all.
Karen's laptop made a sound.
Everyone turned.
She stared at the screen.
“What is it?”
Benjamin asked.
Karen slowly looked up.
“I traced the number.”
Benjamin moved toward her.
“Where?”
Karen hesitated.
“The number isn't registered to a person.”
Benjamin's expression tightened.
“Then who?”
“A prepaid service.”
“Can you trace the location?”
Karen looked at the screen.
“Not exactly.”
Benjamin leaned closer.
“But?”
Karen pointed to the information.
“The voicemail was uploaded through a network connection.”
Benjamin stared.
Karen continued.
“And that network connection belongs to an Anderson Holdings property.”
Nobody moved.
Margaret looked confused.
“Which property?”
Karen's eyes scanned the data.
Then she stopped.
Her face changed.
“Pinnacle Tower.”
Benjamin stared at her.
The same building.
The same place where Elena had been investigating financial records.
The same building connected to Walter Grayson.
And the same building where Craig Holloway had operated for years.
Benjamin slowly straightened.
“That can't be a coincidence.”
David nodded.
“I agree.”
Sophia looked toward the door.
“So someone inside the building sent the voicemail?”
Karen shook her head.
“Not necessarily.”
“But someone used the building's network.”
Benjamin stared at the city through the glass.
Twenty years.
For twenty years, he had believed the truth had disappeared.
Now, somehow, it had returned to the very place where everything began.
His phone vibrated.
Everyone froze.
Benjamin looked down.
Another message.
This one was not a voicemail.
Only a single sentence.
If you want the truth about Elena, come to the old archive room. Alone.
Benjamin's face became cold.
Richard stepped forward.
“Don't.”
Benjamin looked at him.
“Not again.”
Karen immediately reached for the phone.
“Let me see that.”
Benjamin handed it to her.
She examined the message.
“Unknown number.”
Michael Grant moved toward the door.
“We need security.”
Benjamin shook his head.
“No.”
“Benjamin—”
“I said no.”
Michael stopped.
Benjamin looked around the room.
“Whoever sent this wants me alone.”
Karen's expression hardened.
“That's exactly why you shouldn't go.”
Benjamin stared at the phone.
“Twenty years ago, I lost my wife because I didn't know what was happening.”
His voice became quiet.
“If there is even a chance that someone can tell me the truth…”
Margaret stepped toward him.
“Benjamin, this could be a trap.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
David Lang looked concerned.
“The archive room is in the old section of the building.”
Benjamin nodded.
“I know where it is.”
Richard suddenly spoke.
“I'll go with you.”
Benjamin looked at him.
“No.”
Richard stepped closer.
“Then you're making the same mistake Elena did.”
The words stopped Benjamin.
Richard's voice softened.
“Don't carry everything alone.”
For several seconds, Benjamin said nothing.
Then he looked toward Michael.
“Security stays outside the corridor.”
Michael nodded.
Karen immediately objected.
“This is not a good idea.”
Benjamin looked at her.
“Neither was wearing a janitor's uniform for two years.”
Karen stared at him.
Benjamin gave the faintest smile.
“That didn't stop me.”
The old archive room was located on the forty-first floor.
Few employees even knew it existed.
It was part of the original building, constructed long before Anderson Holdings had expanded into the modern executive offices.
Benjamin walked ahead.
Richard remained beside him.
Michael and two security officers followed at a distance, just as Benjamin had instructed.