The Decoy Transfer
Chapter 10 - The Decoy Transfer
On the morning of the merger vote, Celeste entered Vale Meridian’s headquarters to applause from employees who believed she was about to become interim chief executive. Financial networks praised her stability during Adrian’s “family crisis.” She wore the same diamond earrings from her interview.
In the boardroom, Adrian announced that he would step aside temporarily. He said the audio from Suite 904 had been unrecoverable and that the foundation audit had produced no final conclusion. Celeste lowered her eyes with practiced sympathy.
Elena watched remotely from a secure conference room two floors below. Maya sat beside her, along with Veronica and two investigators. Elena’s doctor had approved the short trip only after strict conditions, and Adrian had agreed not to turn concern into control.
At 10:14 a.m., Celeste opened a laptop and authorized the final Northstar payment. The transfer moved into the monitored account. A second prompt appeared, requesting confirmation to send the funds offshore.
Celeste typed her private authorization code.
Investigators captured the keystrokes, the account path, and the trust beneficiary. The initials C.M. expanded into her full legal name.
But Celeste sensed something. She glanced toward the boardroom camera, closed the laptop, and announced that the vote should be postponed. Then she stood and headed for the private elevator.
Police moved in, but the elevator stopped on the ninth floor. Celeste left through a service corridor leading to the rooftop parking deck. She was met there by Dr. Harlan, who had been waiting in a hospital-owned vehicle.
Harlan panicked when he saw officers. He surrendered immediately and shouted that Celeste had threatened to expose his gambling debts if he did not alter the hospital records. Celeste ran toward the stairwell but stopped when she saw Adrian at the door.
He did not approach her.
“You were given every seat at the table,” Adrian said. “You still chose to steal from the people the foundation promised to help.”
Celeste looked past him and saw Elena on a security monitor inside the stairwell command station. For one moment, the confidence disappeared from her face.
Then the district attorney played the recovered hospital audio through a speaker.
Celeste heard her own voice say the words she believed had vanished forever.
May you like
She did not confess. She did not need to.
Officers arrested her on charges related to assault, evidence tampering, fraud, and witness intimidation. The red silk dress had helped her enter the story. Her own voice ended her control of it.
