Nathaniel was waiting for her in the glass box when she arrived at 9 AM.
He looked worse than yesterday. Dark circles under his eyes. A coffee stain on his sleeve. He didn't stand when she walked in.
"I found something," he said.
Victoria sat across from him. "What?"
"The junior accountant. Alice May. I had my security team pull the old camera footage from the hallway outside her desk."
"You said the cameras were broken."
"I said HR said they were broken. They weren't. Someone just didn't want me looking."
He turned his laptop toward her. A grainy video played. A figure in a hoodie, face obscured, walking down the hallway. The figure stopped at Alice's desk, placed an envelope on the keyboard, and walked away.
"Enhance the image," Victoria said.
"I already did." Nathaniel zoomed in. The figure's hand was visible. On the wrist, a watch. A distinctive one. Gold. Expensive.
"I've seen that watch before," Nathaniel said quietly.
"Whose is it?"
"Richard Chan's."
Victoria's blood went cold. "You're sure?"
"He wore it every day. His wife confirmed it. After he died, she couldn't find it. She assumed it was stolen in the robbery."
"Or Richard faked his own death?"
Nathaniel shook his head. "He's dead. I saw the body. I went to the funeral."
"Then someone else is wearing his watch."
"Or someone wanted us to think it was him."
Victoria looked at the video again. The figure moved with confidence. They knew where the cameras were. They knew HR would lie. They knew no one would ask questions.
This wasn't a robbery. This was a setup.
"We need to go to the police," Victoria said.
"And tell them what? That someone left an envelope on a desk three years ago? They'll laugh us out of the precinct."
"Then what do you propose?"
Nathaniel leaned back. His eyes were dark, unreadable. "We find out who's really behind this. Before they find us."
"Find us?"
He didn't answer. He just looked at her.
And then Victoria heard it. A soft click from the hallway. Footsteps. Not Paul's. Heavier.
She turned toward the glass wall. A figure stood outside the office, watching them.
The same hoodie. The same watch.
Victoria reached for her phone. The figure turned and walked away.
"Stay here," Nathaniel said.
"Where are you going?"
"To see who that was."
He was out the door before she could stop him.
Victoria sat alone in the glass box, her heart pounding.
She looked at the laptop. The video was still playing. The figure in the hoodie, placing the envelope on Alice May's desk.
Then she noticed something she hadn't seen before.
In the background of the video, reflected in a window, was a face.
Not Richard Chan's.
Hers.