Page 142 of His Son's Brid
But his eyes are sharp when he looks at my screen.
"Show me."
I walk him through what I found. The pattern of transfers. The unknown account. The total amount missing.
"Someone's been siphoning money from your organization for six months," I conclude. "And they've been good at hiding it. If I wasn't cross-referencing everything, I never would have noticed."
"Who has access to make transfers like this?" Axel asks Viktor.
"You. Me. Sergei handles some of the smaller accounts." Viktor's face is grim. "But this kind of transfer would require your authorization codes."
"Unless someone stole them."
"Or someone you gave them to is using them without permission."
The implication hangs in the air. Someone in Axel's inner circle is stealing from him.
"Can you trace the account?" Axel asks me.
"I'm trying. It's routed through at least four different banks in three countries. Whoever set this up knew what they were doing."
"Keep digging. I want to know who, what, and why." He turns to Viktor. "Pull the records on everyone who's had access to my office in the past six months. Security footage, entry logs, everything."
"On it."
They leave, and I'm alone with the numbers again. I dive deeper, following the money trail through layers of obfuscation. It's like solving a puzzle, and despite the severity of the situation, I find myself getting absorbed in the work.
This is what I'm good at. Finding patterns. Following money. Uncovering secrets hidden in spreadsheets.
I'm so focused that I don't hear my phone ring the first time. Or the second. On the third call, I finally notice.
Unknown number.
I almost don't answer. But something makes me pick up.
"Hello?"
Silence. Then a voice I haven't heard in three weeks.
"Aurora."
My father.
My heart stops. I clutch the phone so hard my knuckles go white.
"Dad."
More silence. I can hear him breathing, hear the tension in that simple sound.
"Are you safe?" he asks finally.
The question catches me off guard. Not how are you? Not I'm sorry. Just are you safe.
"Yes. I'm safe."
"Good."
Another pause. I don't know what to say. Don't know if I should apologize or demand an apology or just hang up.
