Chapter 5: The Real Mastermind

The conference room at White Capital was unusually quiet.

Every senior executive sat with thick folders spread across the polished oak table. Normally, quarterly meetings focused on expansion plans, investments, and revenue forecasts. Today, only one subject mattered.

Fraud.

Dennis sat near the end of the table, exhausted. Less than twelve hours had passed since Jessica's arrest, yet he looked as though he had aged several years overnight.

Theresa entered carrying a cup of black coffee.

Everyone immediately stood.

"Good morning, Chairwoman."

"Sit down," she replied calmly.

She took her seat at the head of the table while Amelia connected the financial reports to the projector.

The first slide appeared.

White Dining Group.

Twenty-three restaurants.

One software system.

Over twelve months of transaction records.

"Let's begin," Theresa said.

The Chief Financial Officer cleared his throat.

"We completed an emergency audit overnight."

"Unfortunately... the situation is much worse than we expected."

He clicked to the next slide.

"The unauthorized service charges weren't limited to Dennis's restaurant."

"Every branch using the updated billing software charged customers hidden fees."

"Tableware maintenance."

"Premium atmosphere enhancement."

"Luxury sanitation."

"Private dining maintenance."

"Exclusive environmental adjustment."

"Different names... same purpose."

"To increase each bill without customers realizing."

Silence filled the room.

"Total amount collected?" Theresa asked.

The CFO swallowed.

"Twenty-seven million, four hundred and eighty-three thousand dollars."

Dennis closed his eyes.

"Twenty-seven million..." he whispered.

"How did nobody notice?"

"Because the increases were spread across thousands of transactions," the CFO explained.

"Most customers assumed they were premium service fees."

"Very few questioned them."

"And when they did..."

"Manager Jessica personally handled the complaints."

Theresa tapped her pen against the table.

"Did Jessica have authority to modify the billing system?"

"No."

"Then who did?"

The room became quiet again.

"That's the strange part," Amelia said.

"Someone with administrator access approved the software update."

"Jessica couldn't have done it alone."

Dennis immediately looked up.

"Who has administrator access?"

"Only four people."

"You."

"The Chief Financial Officer."

"The IT Director."

"And..."

Amelia hesitated.

"Former Chief Operating Officer Richard Lawson."

Dennis frowned.

"Richard resigned six months ago."

"Exactly," Amelia replied.

"But the authorization came from his administrator account."

"After he had supposedly left the company."

Theresa leaned back thoughtfully.

"Meaning someone continued using his credentials."

"Or Richard never really left."

Just then, the conference room door opened.

A young cybersecurity specialist hurried inside carrying a laptop.

"Chairwoman, we've recovered deleted server logs."

"Show us."

The lights dimmed.

Rows of login records filled the screen.

"Every unauthorized billing update originated from a remote server overseas."

"However..."

"The administrator account first logged in from inside White Dining Group headquarters."

"Using Richard Lawson's employee security badge."

"Three days after his resignation."

Dennis stared at the screen.

"That's impossible."

"His badge should've been deactivated."

"It should have," the technician agreed.

"But someone manually reactivated it."

The room fell silent once more.

"Can you identify who?" Theresa asked.

"Yes."

The technician typed several commands.

A security access log appeared.

"Only one executive approved the temporary reactivation."

Everyone waited.

"Vice President Harold Pierce."

Dennis looked stunned.

"Harold?"

"He's been with us since the beginning."

"He helped me open my first restaurant."

"Trust," Theresa said quietly,

"is exactly what people like him rely on."

"Where is Harold now?"

Amelia checked her tablet.

"He called in sick this morning."

"Hasn't answered any calls."

"His office is empty."

"His company phone is switched off."

"Run his bank records," Theresa ordered.

"Already did."

"Yesterday afternoon..."

"Three million dollars was transferred into an offshore account under a shell corporation."

"Destination?"

"Singapore."

Dennis slammed both hands on the table.

"He's running."

"Not yet," Amelia replied.

"Airport security just confirmed he hasn't left the country."

"Good."

Theresa stood.

"Contact the Economic Crimes Division immediately."

"Freeze every company account Harold can access."

"Suspend all executive-level permissions."

"Notify every restaurant manager that no financial transactions are authorized without written approval from this office."

"Yes, Chairwoman."

Within minutes, the entire company was operating under emergency procedures.

Phones rang nonstop.

Emails flooded every department.

Managers across twenty-three restaurants struggled to explain sudden payment freezes to confused staff.

Meanwhile, several detectives arrived at White Capital headquarters.

"Chairwoman White," the lead investigator said.

"Based on your evidence, we've opened a criminal investigation into corporate fraud."

"Do you believe Harold Pierce acted alone?"

Theresa glanced toward Dennis before answering.

"No."

"Someone manipulated Jessica."

"Someone kept fake billing active across multiple restaurants."

"And someone had enough authority to hide twenty-seven million dollars for over a year."

"That's not the work of one person."

The detective nodded.

"We'll issue arrest warrants immediately."

As the investigators prepared to leave, Amelia's phone vibrated.

She answered quickly.

Her face changed within seconds.

"Chairwoman..."

"Airport police just called."

"Harold Pierce wasn't trying to leave the country."

"They found his abandoned car in the airport parking garage."

"His passport... wallet... and phone were all inside."

"But Harold himself..."

"Has completely disappeared."

The detective slowly closed his notebook.

"That changes everything," he murmured.

"If the man who stole twenty-seven million dollars has vanished..."

"There's a good chance someone made sure he never had the opportunity to talk."