"I don't know his name. But he was wearing a uniform."
Victoria looked around the room.
"Margaret, did they take anything?"
The older woman slowly nodded.
"My computer."
Sarah turned.
"Your computer?"
"It was on the desk. They took it before leaving."
"What information was stored on it?"
Margaret looked frightened.
"Copies of the foundation documents. And something else."
"What?"
Margaret reached into her handbag and removed a small notebook.
She opened it to the final page.
There was a list of names, dates, and account numbers.
At the bottom was a handwritten sentence.
The money was never intended to help the officers' families. It was used to pay for silence.
Victoria read the sentence twice.
"Who wrote this?"
"I did."
"How long have you known?"
Margaret looked toward the window.
"Since the first family came to me asking why their promised financial assistance had never arrived."
She paused.
"One of them was the wife of a deputy who died while responding to an emergency call. She had two young children. The foundation had promised to cover their education."
Margaret's voice broke.
"But the money never came."
Victoria sat down opposite her.
"Did you investigate?"
"I tried. I contacted the sheriff's office. I asked for financial statements. I was told that everything was being handled properly."
"And then?"
"Then I discovered that several payments had been approved using my signature."
Sarah looked up sharply.
"Your signature?"
Margaret nodded.
"I never authorized those transactions."
Victoria understood.
Margaret had not simply been a witness to financial misconduct.
Someone had used her identity to make the illegal transfers appear legitimate.
"Do you have proof?"
Margaret opened the notebook again.
"I kept copies of the original documents. But there's something more important."
She turned to the final section.
It contained a list of families who had never received their promised benefits.
There were seventeen names.
Seventeen families.
Seventeen people who had trusted a charity created to support them during the most difficult moments of their lives.
Victoria slowly closed the notebook.
"This changes everything."
Margaret looked at her.
"Will you find out where the money went?"
Victoria met her eyes.
"Yes."
"And will the people responsible be punished?"
Victoria did not hesitate.
"If the evidence establishes their guilt, they will face the consequences."
Margaret finally began to cry.
For years, she had believed nobody would listen.
Now, for the first time, someone had.
At the secure residence, Emily Carter was preparing dinner when the telephone rang.
David was sitting at the kitchen table, reading through an old newspaper.
He looked up when Emily answered.
"Hello?"
"Emily, this is Agent Collins."
Emily smiled faintly.
"Sarah? Is everything okay?"
"I need you to listen carefully. Are you alone?"
Emily looked toward her father.
"No. My dad is here."
"Good. Don't leave the residence. We are strengthening the security arrangements."
Emily's expression changed.
"Why?"
"We received a threat."
"What kind of threat?"
Sarah hesitated.
"Someone sent us a photograph of you leaving the federal building."
Emily felt her stomach tighten.
"Someone was following me?"
"That's what we're investigating."
David stood immediately.
"What happened?"
Emily put the telephone on speaker.
Sarah explained the situation.
When she finished, David slowly sat down.
"Charles Donovan."
Emily looked at him.
"You think it was him?"
David shook his head.
"I think he knows how to make people afraid. But the person behind this may be someone else."
Sarah's voice came through the speaker.
"David, do you recognize anyone who might have access to our protection arrangements?"
David remained silent for several seconds.
Then he answered.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"A man named Peter Wallace."
Sarah checked her notes.
"Who is he?"
"He used to work for Donovan. He handled private security arrangements and knew several people in the sheriff's department."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"No. But he wasn't just a security contractor."
David looked toward the window.
"He was the person who arranged my disappearance."
Emily covered her mouth.
"What?"
David nodded slowly.
"I recognized him outside the building the day I was taken. He was the man who told me everything would be easier if I cooperated."
"Why didn't you tell us before?"
"Because I thought he had left the state."
Sarah made a note.
"Can you describe him?"
David gave her a detailed description.
Sarah immediately sent the information to the investigative team.
Then David added something else.
"There's a reason Peter Wallace was so useful to Donovan."
"What reason?" Sarah asked.
David lowered his voice.
"He used to work in federal security."
Sarah stopped writing.
"Where?"
"Under Richard Harlan."