Chapter 3: The USB Revealed a Secret Daniel Never Expected
Chapter 3: The USB Revealed a Secret Daniel Never Expected
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The USB drive sat in Daniel’s palm beneath the dining-room light, small enough to disappear between two fingers.
Yet somehow, it felt heavier than anything I had ever held.
Mark stared at it like he was looking at a loaded weapon.
The compliance officer noticed.
“You recognize it.”
Mark swallowed.
“I’ve seen that drive before.”
Daniel’s expression didn’t change.
“Where?”
Mark looked toward the floor.
“At the office.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
The woman in the dark blazer stepped closer.
“Three months ago, that drive was logged as missing from the East Coast development team. It contained preliminary financial models, contractor bids, and internal correspondence.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Did you ever see it before tonight?”
I shook my head immediately.
“No.”
“And did you put it in your purse?”
“Of course not.”
Mark suddenly laughed.
It was a nervous, bitter sound.
“Of course she didn’t.”
Everyone turned toward him.
Mark rubbed his forehead.
“You don’t understand what that drive means.”
Daniel held it up.
“Then explain.”
Mark stared at him.
“You think I stole it?”
“I think you’re going to tell me the truth.”
“I didn’t steal it.”
The compliance officer crossed her arms.
“Then why was your fingerprint found on the original evidence bag?”
Mark went silent.
My stomach tightened.
Daniel looked at him carefully.
“You touched it.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
Mark exhaled.
“Three months ago.”
“Why?”
“Because someone gave it to me.”
“Who?”
Mark didn’t answer.
Daniel took one step toward him.
“Mark.”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t know who he was.”
The room went completely quiet.
Daniel glanced at the compliance officer.
“Open it.”
She hesitated.
“We should preserve it as evidence.”
“Then make a copy.”
She nodded.
The man with the briefcase opened his laptop and connected a secure adapter. A few seconds later, the files appeared on the screen.
There were dozens of folders.
Financial projections.
Contracts.
Emails.
Invoices.
Then one folder caught my attention.
My name.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Why is my name there?”
Daniel immediately looked at the screen.
The folder was labeled:
HOUSEHOLD ACCESS — M. CARTER
That wasn’t my name.
But beneath it was a file containing my full legal information.
Date of birth.
Address.
Banking information.
And my Social Security number.
My hands began to shake.
“I never gave anyone permission to use that.”
The compliance officer stared at the screen.
“This confirms the account application.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“Whose account?”
She opened the document.
“The shell company account.”
The room seemed to shrink around us.
I looked at Daniel.
“You said the account was opened using my information.”
“It was.”
“But why?”
Nobody answered.
Then Mark whispered something.
“What?”
He looked at Daniel.
“She wasn’t supposed to know.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Know what?”
Mark shook his head.
“I shouldn’t say it.”
“Say it.”
Mark looked at me.
“The person who hired me told me your wife was part of the arrangement.”
My heart stopped.
“What arrangement?”
Mark looked genuinely frightened now.
“I was told your identity would be used as a cover.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Who told you?”
“I never met him directly.”
“You just said someone hired you.”
“I communicated through someone else.”
“Who?”
Mark closed his eyes.
Then he said a name.
“Ethan.”
Daniel froze.
I didn’t know anyone named Ethan.
But the compliance officer did.
Her expression changed instantly.
“Ethan Vale?”
Mark nodded.
She slowly turned toward Daniel.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan Vale died two years ago.”
My skin went cold.
Mark stared at her.
“He’s not dead.”
The man with the briefcase stopped typing.
Daniel’s voice became quieter.
“What do you mean?”
Mark looked toward the window.
“I mean the person giving me instructions used that name. I never saw his face.”
The compliance officer exchanged a look with her colleague.
Daniel took the USB from the table.
“Play the video files.”
There were three.
The first showed Mark entering a parking garage.
The second showed him meeting a contractor.
The third had no preview.
Daniel clicked it.
The screen went black.
Then a voice filled the dining room.
“Mark.”
Mark’s face turned white.
The voice continued.
“You were told not to contact Daniel directly.”
Mark whispered:
“That’s him.”
The recording continued.
“If Daniel becomes suspicious, use the wife.”
I stopped breathing.
The voice continued.
“Her identity is already prepared. Her accounts can absorb the transfers. If anything goes wrong, she takes the blame.”
Daniel slowly turned toward me.
I couldn’t speak.
Then another voice entered the recording.
A woman’s voice.
Calm.
Familiar.
My heart dropped.
Because I knew that voice.
Daniel knew it too.
His face changed for the first time that night.
The woman on the recording said:
“Daniel will never suspect me.”
The audio ended.
Nobody moved.
I looked at Daniel.
“Who is that?”
He didn’t answer.
“Daniel?”
He stared at the laptop.
The compliance officer whispered:
“You know her.”
Daniel finally looked at me.
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“Who is she?”
Daniel’s lips parted.
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
And all the color disappeared from his face.
I stepped closer.
“Who is calling?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
The phone rang again.
Then a message appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
You found the USB. Good.
A second message followed.
Now ask Daniel why he never told you about his first wife.
I looked at my husband.
His eyes met mine.
And for the first time that night, Daniel looked afraid.
