Chapter 6 - Rebecca’s Warning
Rebecca Shaw did not run.
She asked to meet.
Her first sentence shattered Ethan’s assumption.
“My father didn’t send Claire the paternity packet.”
“Then you did?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make Claire panic.”
Ethan stared.
That made no sense.
Rebecca explained.
She had spent two years suspecting Martin was improperly positioning Hartwell to benefit from Northlake acquisition.
She could not prove.
She found old parentage model.
Then found Claire’s archive request and altered paternity file already sitting in Hartwell internal folder.
Rebecca believed someone at Hartwell planned use it.
Instead of reporting cleanly, she made reckless decision.
She anonymously sent copy to Claire hoping Claire would confront Ethan, forcing issue into open.
“Why not send it to me?”
“Because I thought you’d go straight to Martin.”
“Why would that be bad?”
“He controls internal investigation.”
Rebecca wanted outside noise.
Claire provided.
But Rebecca denied second message warning about October vote.
“That wasn’t me.”
So there were two anonymous senders.
First: Rebecca, trying expose.
Second: someone escalating.
Rebecca had also not altered document.
She found it already altered.
Who uploaded?
Audit trail showed legacy batch migration.
Six years earlier.
Username:
MVALE.
Marcus.
Impossible? Not necessarily.
His account.
Could be compromised before death.
Daniel remembered Marcus complaining his account had been cloned during fiduciary data migration.
Marcus reported.
Old IT ticket recovered:
UNAUTHORIZED SESSION — USER MVALE.
SOURCE TERMINAL H-04.
Terminal H-04 belonged to Hartwell predecessor office.
Assigned at time to junior trust analyst:
Martin Shaw.
That did not prove Martin used it.
But it placed compromised account on his workstation.
Ethan confronted Martin through counsel.
Martin denied.
“Marcus gave me access.”
No record.
Then Rebecca gave Ethan something more powerful.
Her late mother kept old Hartwell notebooks.
One entry:
MARTIN SAYS MARCUS SIGNATURE SOLVES BENNETT PROBLEM IF ANNA PUSHES AGAIN.
Date:
two days after Bellmont meeting.
The “Bennett problem” existed before Lily born.
Martin saw Marcus’s emergency-contact signature as potential tool.
But why preserve for six years without using?
Because no need.
Ethan and Anna stayed married.
Lily’s paternity unquestioned.
Acquisition didn’t exist.
Only after Northlake offer emerged did old forgery become useful.
Rebecca’s attempt to expose put it into Claire’s hands.
Someone then sent second message and encouraged Claire to act before October vote.
Who?
Rebecca suspected Martin.
But evidence said second message came through burner phone purchased near Bennett mansion.
Security footage from store showed buyer.
Not Martin.
Claire.
May you like
Ethan felt cold.
Claire had sent second anonymous message to herself.
