Chapter 8 - Marina’s Computer
The forensic team found an approval record from my workstation.
That frightened me more than Adrian’s.
One fraudulent Grant Atelier invoice carried digital approval metadata tied to my office network.
Time:
11:36 p.m.
Six months earlier.
I was home asleep.
Marina’s workstation was logged in.
User:
Marina Blake.
The accounting system showed her credentials approved a $312,000 payment.
I looked at Marina.
She went white.
“I didn’t.”
“Were you in office?”
“No.”
“Who had access?”
“Cleaning staff. Security. IT.”
“Adrian?”
She hesitated.
“He came by that night.”
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
“He said you left a passport.”
“I was traveling the next morning.”
“Yes.”
“Did he find it?”
“He said he did.”
Security logs showed Adrian entering at 10:58 p.m.
Leaving 12:04 a.m.
Marina was not there.
Her workstation had been remotely accessible due an executive IT support tool installed earlier that year.
Adrian should not have had admin credentials.
Who did?
Our contracted IT provider.
And me.
The system log showed an administrative reset code generated from an email account linked to Cole Meridian corporate IT.
Adrian had gotten access through his own company staff.
Not sophisticated hacking.
Misused legitimate access.
But until forensic review finished, Marina remained potentially exposed.
She cried in my rehabilitation room.
“I have worked for you eight years.”
“I know.”
“You think I approved money for Celeste?”
“I think evidence has to be checked.”
Her face changed.
“You don’t trust me.”
“I do.”
“That doesn’t sound like trust.”
I looked at her.
“I trusted Adrian. Trust cannot mean refusing to verify.”
Silence.
Then Marina nodded slowly.
“That’s fair.”
She gave investigators her laptop.
Phone.
Work accounts.
No resistance.
Within three days, logs cleared her of intentional approval.
Her credentials had been reset during Adrian’s late-night office visit.
The payment approval happened while security footage showed her at a restaurant with her sister.
Marina was victim of credential misuse.
She came back to my room with coffee.
“Can I be offended now?”
“Yes.”
“I’m offended.”
“Reasonable.”
Then she placed an old envelope on my bed.
“What is that?”
“Something your father gave me.”
I stared.
“When?”
“Two weeks before he died.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“He told me not to unless Adrian tried to take control of the trust.”
Everybody had secret instructions from my father.
It was becoming irritating.
“What does it say?”
“Open it.”
I did.
Marina,
If Vivian ever faces a conflict between her marriage and her financial independence, do not choose for her. Give her facts. If she asks you to hide facts because she loves someone, refuse.
I swallowed.
Then:
I made the mistake of protecting her from one piece of information about Adrian. I regret it.
My heart tightened.
At bottom:
Raymond knows the details.
I looked at Marina.
“You knew Dad was hiding something?”
“Only that.”
“Why didn’t you ask Raymond?”
“Because it wasn’t mine.”
I called him.
He arrived an hour later.
“You’re angry.”
“Yes.”
“Fair.”
“What woman?”
Raymond sat.
“Seven years ago, before your engagement, your father received a report that Adrian had a relationship with an employee.”
“Name?”
“Erica Moore.”
“Did you verify?”
“No.”
“Then why mention?”
“Because your father confronted Adrian. Adrian admitted an inappropriate relationship but claimed it ended before your relationship became serious.”
I stared.
“Did Dad believe?”
“He believed enough not to intervene.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“He thought it was over.”
I laughed bitterly.
“And regretted?”
“Yes.”
“Where is Erica?”
“Seattle, last we knew.”
“Is she relevant financially?”
“Possibly.”
“How?”
“She was Cole Meridian’s controller.”
That changed everything.
An old affair.
A financial officer.
My father’s related-party covenant.
Maybe Dad had not written that clause because of morality.
Maybe he feared money and sex had already crossed.
We contacted Erica through counsel.
She answered the next day.
May you like
And the first thing she said was:
“I wondered how long it would take Vivian to find me.”
