Chapter 12 - THE NINE O'CLOCK DEADLINE
Camille didn't sleep.
At 5:30 a.m., she arrived at Asterion headquarters.
Thomas Renard was already there.
Sofia Bennett entered minutes later, carrying coffee and a thick folder of documents.
Evelyn Brooks joined by video conference.
Camille stood before the windows.
“Victor says our largest customer will receive damaging evidence at nine.”
Thomas frowned.
“What evidence?”
“I don't know.”
Sofia opened her laptop.
“Then we prepare for every possibility.”
They reviewed financial statements.
Security reports.
Compliance certifications.
Customer contracts.
Asterion's finances were sound.
Its systems had passed recent audits.
There was no legitimate basis for claiming the company was insolvent.
But false allegations could still cause enormous damage.
Especially if they were supported by fabricated documents.
At 7:12 a.m., Thomas received an alert.
A confidential internal report had been uploaded to an anonymous document-sharing website.
The file claimed Asterion had concealed a serious cybersecurity breach.
Camille stared at the screen.
“Is it real?”
Thomas opened the document.
His expression darkened.
“No.”
“How can you tell?”
“The incident number doesn't exist. The formatting is wrong. And the report references a server environment we retired two years ago.”
Camille exhaled.
“Can we prove that?”
“Yes.”
“Then prepare the evidence.”
Sofia immediately contacted the hospital network's legal department.
She requested a formal opportunity to respond before any contractual action.
Meanwhile, Thomas's security team preserved the fraudulent document and began tracing its origin.
At 8:03 a.m., a second file appeared.
This one contained fabricated financial statements.
The documents suggested Asterion had hidden liabilities worth eighteen million euros.
Evelyn examined them.
“These numbers don't reconcile.”
Camille leaned forward.
“Can you demonstrate that clearly?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn began preparing a comparison.
Camille looked toward Thomas.
“Do we know where the files came from?”
He hesitated.
“Not yet.”
Then his screen flashed.
An internal alert.
Someone had attempted to access Asterion's customer database using credentials associated with Marc Vautrin.
The login failed.
But the attempt revealed something important.
The source network matched the one used during the earlier deletion attempt.
Geneva.
Camille turned toward Sofia.
“Can we give this to investigators?”
“We already have enough to make a supplemental report.”
At 8:41 a.m., the hospital network confirmed receipt of Asterion's preliminary response.
The procurement director agreed to postpone any immediate decision until the evidence could be reviewed.
Camille felt a small measure of relief.
But Victor's deadline remained.
Nine o'clock.
At 8:57, her phone rang.
Julien.
She hesitated.
Then answered with Sofia beside her.
“What?”
Julien sounded breathless.
“Camille, listen carefully.”
She stiffened.
“Why?”
“Victor isn't sending the hospital network a security report.”
Camille looked toward Thomas.
“What?”
“He's sending them a recording.”
Her heart pounded.
“Of what?”
“A private conversation involving your mother.”
Camille felt cold.
“What conversation?”
Julien hesitated.
“I don't know the full contents.”
“Then how do you know?”
“I found a reference in Victor's files.”
Camille closed her eyes.
“What does he think it proves?”
“That Madeleine manipulated the Mercier investigation.”
Camille felt anger rise.
“That's a lie.”
“I know.”
“Then why would he release it?”
“Because he thinks it will damage your family's credibility.”
Camille looked toward Sofia.
Julien continued.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“Victor has a second recording.”
Camille's pulse quickened.
“Of whom?”
“Your father.”
Camille froze.
Julien's voice became strained.
“He claims Armand admitted knowing about the missing funds.”
Camille closed her eyes.
“Is the recording authentic?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why are you calling?”
“Because I think Victor altered it.”
Camille stared at the phone.
Julien continued.
“I found audio editing files in his archive. Multiple versions of the same conversation.”
Sofia leaned closer.
“Julien, can you preserve those files and provide them to investigators?”
“Yes.”
“Do it immediately.”
Camille remained silent.
Then Julien spoke softly.
“Camille?”
She closed her eyes.
“What?”
“I'm sorry.”
The words hurt.
Because she had once wanted nothing more than to hear them.
Now they felt painfully inadequate.
“I know,” she whispered.
Julien's voice broke.
“I never should have approached you.”
Camille looked toward the window.
“No. You shouldn't have.”
“I thought I was punishing your father.”
“You punished me.”
Silence.
Then Julien answered:
“I know.”
Camille ended the call.
At exactly nine o'clock, the hospital network received the recording.
But it wasn't the recording Victor expected.
Instead, the file contained a short audio message.
A woman's voice.
Madeleine Delcourt.
Camille stared at the notification.
Sofia opened the attachment.
Madeleine's voice filled the room.
“If this recording reaches anyone outside my family, then someone has attempted to misuse my private investigation.”
Camille covered her mouth.
Her mother had anticipated the possibility.
Madeleine continued.
“The documents concerning the Mercier case must be examined in full. Any edited excerpts may misrepresent my findings.”
A pause.
“I have preserved the original evidence with independent legal custodians.”
Camille looked toward Sofia.
Her mother had created a safeguard.
May you like
Then Madeleine spoke the final sentence.
“And if Victor Lemaire is the person releasing this, ask him why he paid to falsify Étienne Mercier's confession.”
