Chapter 5 - The Stolen Funds
Coleman’s thumb hovered over the screen of his phone. He offered Daniel a sick, victorious smile. “Are you begging now? Is that what this is? Because it’s too late.”
“I’m not begging,” Daniel said, his voice entirely devoid of fear. “I’m giving you a chance to walk away before I open this bag.”
Coleman froze. He looked down at the battered, worn leather messenger bag resting on the marble floor. For a fraction of a second, a flicker of genuine unease crossed his face. “What is in the bag? If it’s a weapon, you’ll spend the rest of your pathetic life in a cell.”
Daniel didn't reach for the bag violently. He slowly knelt down, his movements deliberate and calm. He unbuckled the worn leather straps.
“It’s not a weapon,” Daniel said, pulling out a thick, heavy stack of financial documents bearing the official gold seal of an international auditing firm. “It’s a forensic accounting report.”
The blood instantly drained from Coleman’s face. His hand began to shake, the expensive smartphone nearly slipping from his grasp.
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“For the past three years,” Daniel continued, reading the top page of the report out loud, “the manager of this hotel has been secretly embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the employee payroll fund to pay for his luxury suits, his expensive cars, and his gambling debts. He threatened to fire any staff member who questioned the missing overtime pay.”
👉 How did a homeless man get his hands on the highly confidential financial records of the hotel?
