“You knew Evelyn Sawyer.”
Gerald finally looked at her.
“Yes.”
The word was barely audible.
Whitney's heart pounded.
“How?”
Gerald looked toward the floor.
“Your grandmother worked for me.”
Whitney froze.
“What?”
“Years ago.”
“As a cleaner?”
“No.”
Gerald swallowed.
“She translated documents.”
Whitney stared.
“For your company?”
“Yes.”
Victor immediately interrupted.
“Not his company.”
Gerald looked at him.
“Be quiet.”
Victor smiled.
“You can't hide it anymore.”
Whitney looked between them.
“What company?”
Gerald hesitated.
“Covington Development didn't exist yet.”
“Then what was it?”
Gerald sat back down.
“Pacific Meridian.”
Whitney's face went pale.
The company Claire had mentioned.
The company that supposedly lost thirty-five million dollars.
“My grandmother worked for Pacific Meridian?”
“Yes.”
“What did she do?”
“She was a translator.”
Whitney looked toward Claire.
“You knew?”
Claire nodded.
“Your grandmother told me.”
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because Evelyn didn't want you involved.”
Whitney looked at Gerald.
“Why did she leave?”
Gerald's silence was answer enough.
“Why?”
Gerald finally spoke.
“She discovered something.”
“What?”
He rubbed his forehead.
“She found financial transfers.”
Victor leaned forward.
“To whom?”
Gerald glared at him.
“I don't know.”
Victor smiled.
“You do.”
Gerald's voice rose.
“I wasn't responsible.”
Whitney stared.
“I didn't say you were.”
“But you were thinking it.”
She stepped closer.
“What did she discover?”
Gerald closed his eyes.
“Money was being moved between companies.”
“Whose money?”
“Investor money.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Victor shook his head.
“You know exactly why.”
Gerald suddenly stood.
“You weren't there!”
Victor's expression became cold.
“No.”
“But I was.”
The entire table fell silent.
Gerald looked at Whitney.
“Your grandmother was terrified.”
Whitney's anger disappeared.
“What happened?”
“She came to my office one night.”
“When?”
“About thirty years ago.”
“What did she say?”
“She told me someone was stealing from the company.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You said that already.”
Gerald swallowed.
“She had evidence.”
“What kind?”
“Bank records.”
Whitney's eyes narrowed.
“Where are they?”
Gerald looked at Victor.
“I don't know.”
Victor shook his head.
“He does.”
Gerald snapped.
“Stop!”
Victor stood.
“You're running out of places to hide.”
Gerald's voice became quiet.
“You don't understand what happens if those records come out.”
Whitney looked at him.
“What happens?”
Gerald didn't answer.
Victor did.
“People go to prison.”
Whitney felt a chill.
“How many?”
Victor looked at her.
“Enough.”
Suddenly, the restaurant lights flickered.
Everyone looked up.
The music stopped.
The room went dark.
A second later, emergency lights came on.
Daniel shouted from across the dining room.
“Everyone stay calm!”
Whitney's heart raced.
She instinctively grabbed the USB drive.
A crash came from the front entrance.
Someone screamed.
Then the glass doors shattered.
Two men rushed inside.
Everything happened at once.
Victor grabbed Whitney's arm.
“Down!”
Whitney dropped behind the table.
A chair overturned.
Someone shouted.
Gerald disappeared beneath the table.
Claire pulled her briefcase close.
One of the men moved directly toward them.
Victor stood.
“Back away.”
The man raised his hand.
“Give me the drive.”
Whitney froze.
The drive.
They knew.
The man wasn't interested in Gerald.
He wasn't interested in the contract.
He wanted the USB.
Victor stepped between him and Whitney.
“You're making a mistake.”
The man laughed.
“No.”
He reached toward Whitney.
Victor shoved him back.
The second man rushed forward.
Daniel appeared from behind the bar and swung a metal tray.
It struck the man's shoulder.
He stumbled.
“Run!” Daniel shouted.
Whitney grabbed Claire's hand.
They moved toward the kitchen.
Victor followed.
Gerald stayed behind.
Whitney looked back.
“Gerald!”
He was standing near the table.
One of the attackers had grabbed him.
“Where is it?”
Gerald shook his head.
“I don't have it.”
The attacker struck him.
Gerald fell.
Whitney stopped.
“Gerald!”
Victor grabbed her.
“Keep moving!”
“But—”
“He made his choices.”
They reached the kitchen.
Daniel opened a back door.
“Go!”
Whitney ran outside.
Cold night air hit her face.
Sirens were already approaching in the distance.
Claire followed.
Victor came last.
They ran down the alley.
Behind them, the restaurant erupted in noise.
Whitney looked down.
The USB drive was still in her hand.
She had forgotten she was holding it.
Victor noticed.
“Good.”
Whitney stared at him.
“You knew this would happen?”
“No.”
“You knew someone was coming.”
“Yes.”
“You knew they wanted the drive.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you stop them?”
Victor looked at her.
“Because I needed to know who they were.”
Whitney frowned.
“What?”
Victor pointed toward the street.
One of the attackers had escaped through the restaurant's front entrance.
A police car was already there.
The other had been restrained by Daniel and two customers.
Victor smiled.
“Now we know.”
Whitney looked at the man being arrested.
“Who is he?”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“He's Gerald's head of security.”
Whitney stared.
“What?”
Victor nodded.
“And that means Gerald wasn't the only person who knew about the drive.”
Whitney looked back toward the restaurant.
Gerald was being helped outside by police officers.
He looked shaken.
But he wasn't looking at the attacker.
He was looking at Whitney.
Their eyes met.
Gerald's expression was impossible to read.
Then he mouthed four words.
“Don't trust Victor Hale.”
Whitney froze.
Victor stepped beside her.
“What did he say?”
Whitney looked at Victor.
For the first time that night, she wasn't sure.
“I…”
She stopped.
Victor waited.
Whitney finally shook her head.
“Nothing.”
But the doubt had already entered her mind.
And it grew stronger when she looked at the USB drive.
Because she suddenly noticed something she hadn't seen before.
There was a tiny inscription engraved on its side.
Three Chinese characters.
She translated them silently.
“For Whitney.”
Her grandmother had prepared the drive for her.
Not for Victor.
Not for Gerald.