Chapter 9 - CHARLOTTE’S HOME OFFICE
Charlotte returned to Boston that afternoon with corporate security.
Not because she was afraid of Ryan.
Because the breach had become personal.
Her home sat thirty minutes outside the city.
Nothing about it suggested billionaire wealth.
A renovated four-bedroom farmhouse.
A vegetable garden.
A two-car garage.
A small pond.
Ryan had hated it.
He called the place boring.
Charlotte had always loved it.
Now every room felt contaminated.
Marcus entered her home office wearing gloves.
“Don’t touch anything.”
Charlotte stood in the doorway.
Her desk looked normal.
Laptop.
Family photographs.
Two notebooks.
A ceramic mug.
Her father’s old fountain pen.
Marcus examined the hardware token used for high-level Bennett Global approvals.
It remained inside the locked desk drawer.
“Could someone copy it?”
“Technically possible.”
“Easily?”
“No.”
He inspected the drawer.
“No forced entry.”
Charlotte looked toward the hallway.
“Ryan knew the code.”
Marcus paused.
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
Ryan had once watched her open it.
She had trusted him.
Marcus connected the token to a diagnostic device.
Five minutes later, his expression changed.
“This device was accessed seven months ago from another computer.”
Charlotte felt cold.
“Whose?”
“I need time.”
She walked toward the bedroom.
Ryan’s closet remained half full.
His suits.
Shoes.
Old photographs.
She opened his bedside drawer.
Nothing unusual.
Then she remembered something.
Seven months earlier, Ryan had surprised her with breakfast.
He had insisted she sleep late.
When she came downstairs, her office door had been slightly open.
She asked him why.
He claimed he had been looking for printer paper.
At the time, she had believed him.
Her phone rang.
Ryan.
Charlotte stared at the screen.
Then answered.
“What?”
His voice was quiet.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Then tell Legal.”
“This isn’t for Legal.”
“Everything is for Legal now.”
“Charlotte.”
She almost hung up.
Then he said the words.
“I used your security key.”
Silence.
“When?”
“Seven months ago.”
Her grip tightened.
“Why?”
“Victor told me there was a system test.”
Charlotte closed her eyes.
“You removed my corporate authorization key from my locked desk.”
“Yes.”
“You connected it to another computer.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“No.”
A strange calm filled her.
“Was Sabrina there?”
Ryan hesitated.
“Yes.”
Charlotte breathed slowly.
Marcus watched her.
Ryan continued.
“I didn’t know what they were doing.”
“You never knew.”
The words came out colder than she intended.
“You never asked.”
“You never checked.”
“You never cared until something threatened you.”
“Charlotte, please.”
“What?”
“I can help you.”
She looked toward the home they had once shared.
“No, Ryan.”
“You already helped them.”
Then Marcus turned his laptop toward her.
He had identified the computer used seven months earlier.
The device belonged to a Bennett Global executive.
Not Victor.
May you like
Not Ryan.
The registered owner was General Counsel Jonathan Harrison.
