Chapter 59: Embezzlement Arc: Two
Samantha and Salmona rushed into their office after hours and ran to their offices. They logged into their computers. If it was true money was missing from the audits then it could have been someone who closed on a house recently.
Samantha pulled up the records for the last three closings. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, each tap echoing in the silent office. Across the desk, Salmona hunched over her own screen, scrolling through transaction histories with a deepening frown. "The Henderson file," she muttered. "Look at the escrow disbursements."
A discrepancy glowed on Samantha’s monitor—$15,000 marked for title insurance that never reached the underwriter.
"Henderson...how many properties have we closed on this year with them?" Salmona asked.
Samantha shrugged. "A lot..."
She clicked through the Henderson portfolio, her pulse quickening as each file revealed the same pattern—small discrepancies buried under layers of routine paperwork. A $500 overcharge here, an unexplained $1,200 fee there. Salmona leaned closer, her breath fogging Samantha’s monitor. "It’s not just one theft. Someone’s been skimming systematically." Her finger jabbed at the screen. "Look at the dates. Every third closing since January."
During the months, the twins were preoccupied with Lacy’s pregnancy that they could have easily allowed this to slip through the cracks. Samantha leaned back in her chair, the leather creaking under her weight. "Every third closing. That’s deliberate. Calculated." She rubbed her temples, the fluorescent lights suddenly too harsh. "Who has access to finalize these disbursements?"
Salmona didn’t answer immediately, scrolling through employee permissions. Her knuckles whitened around the mouse. "Only senior closers. And us."
They were having a hard time trying to figure out who it could be.
Samantha stared at the list of senior closers—only five names, including theirs. Her mind raced through interactions: Derek’s nervous laughter during last week’s audit meeting, Maria’s sudden vacation to Bali, old Mr. Peterson’s shaky hands signing documents. Salmona printed the Henderson transaction records, the printer’s mechanical whir slicing through the heavy silence. Paper spilled out warm, smelling faintly of toner and dread. "We need bank traces," she said, slapping the stack onto Samantha’s desk. "Every payment path. Now."
Sasha entered into the quiet home that night, not wanting to wake Tyler. A failed mission when she stepped on a squeaky toy when entering into the house. She smelt of alcohol and sweat. She was just so stressed about the relationship with Tyler, and how he still hadn’t forgiven her for having punched him.
She walked into the living room and slammed down on the couch upon dropping her basketball dufflebag. She just wanted him to forgive her already.
Tyler heard the squeaky toy and got up to check if all was okay. He stepped out into the hall slowly and then peered around the corner. He saw her and cleared his throat.
Tyler stood in the doorway, arms crossed. He hadn’t been asleep at all. "You reek, have you been out drinking with the team," he asked flatly yet worried. Sasha avoided his gaze, picking at the frayed edge of her shorts.
The silence stretched, thick with everything left unsaid since the night her fist connected with his jaw during that one argument.
She finally met his stare. "I messed up again. I went out with the Alphas and we stopped by a pub. I got a bit wasted from all the stress." Her voice cracked. The squeaky toy lay near her foot, a ridiculous yellow duck, mocking the tension. Tyler shifted his weight, the floorboard creaking under him like an accusation.
He didn’t move any closer; instead, he turned around and walked back to their bedroom. He checked on the babies to make sure all was well with them before heading back. Sasha followed him and went to the bedroom shower and took off her clothes.
"Do you want to join me in the shower?" She asked. She was nude and stood in the doorway, her eyes were pleading with him and he took off his clothes and entered it, entered into the shower with her.
"I don’t wanna have sex," he said to her.
"Then we won’t. I’ll respect your wishes."
Salmona’s fingers trembled as she cross-referenced employee login timestamps against the altered files. "Look—discrepancies only appear during night audits. Always between 1 and 3 AM." She pulled up security logs, the blue light etching shadows under her eyes. "Three people have after-hours access codes besides us." Samantha’s breath hitched. One name flashed repeatedly: Liam Chen. Their most trusted closer, who’d brought them coffee that very morning.
The printer spat out Liam’s access records. Salmona snatched the pages, her voice tight. "He logged in during every flagged window. Even the night Lacy went into labor." Samantha remembered Liam covering her shift that week, his too-quick smile when she thanked him. Outside, rain lashed the windows like thrown gravel. The storm mirrored the churn in her gut...betrayal tasted like stale office coffee.
Salmona pulled up building security footage, typing with sharp, angry keystrokes. The grainy timestamp showed Liam at his desk during the witching hours, shoulders hunched. "Watch his mouse," she hissed.
The cursor darted to escrow adjustment screens, lingered, then vanished. "He’sma hides behind charm." Samantha recalled the extra attention he’d paid her during Lacy’s pregnancy—always hovering, always offering to handle her workload. Protectiveness, or surveillance?
The printer jammed. Salmona cursed, slamming her palm against it. Paper crunched. "We need concrete proof before confronting him. He could wipe everything." Samantha nodded, cold spreading through her chest.
She accessed encrypted server backups, pulling archived versions of the Henderson files. Side-by-side comparisons scrolled: original figures clean, later versions bloated with phantom fees. "He’s good," she admitted grudgingly. "Buried it deep in post-closing reconciliations."
Salmona rewound the security footage further. "Look—January 12th." The timestamp glowed: 2:17 AM. Liam wasn’t alone. A second figure lingered in the doorway—hoodie pulled low, face obscured. Liam glanced up, nodded, then turned back to his screen. The shadow vanished. "An accomplice?" Salmona whispered. "Or blackmail?" Samantha’s throat tightened. Liam’s sister had cancer. Medical bills. He’d joked about selling a kidney last month. Had it been a confession?
The next morning Lacy woke, she found that both the twins room were empty. She also saw Aurora’s room was also empty. Panic was beginning to set in and she found herself running through the house trying to find her baby, and her Alphas.
She walked to the living room where she saw little Aurora playing with her Salmona’s hair. The cute baby that was turning browner every day had a fist full of the Alpha’s white hair in her mouth. She was happily chewing on it. Lacy smiled at the child. Glad to know she was safe and not missing somewhere.
The floor was covered in paperwork and Aurora’s diaper needed to be changed. She picked up the baby that was chewing on her sire’s hair and went to the restroom to change her. She was careful to not step on any paper or documents that were scattered about like a office tornado swept through the place.
After she was done with Aurora, she placed the baby in her high chair and went into the refrigerator to pull out prepped out milk she had sucked from her breast earlier in the week. Lacy took to milking her breast daily except on weekends and enjoyed having them prepared for the day before.
She walked back to the living room and placed her foot on Salmona’s face. Salmona smelled it then licked it, before taking the toy in her mouth and sucking it. Lacy quickly pulled out.
"Salmona, get up!" Salmona awoke with a start and looked around the living room at all the paperwork. She rubbed her eyes. "Man, we got in so late last night."
Lacy went to Samantha and flicked her across the nose. She woke up and stretched. "Where’s Aurora?"
"In her high chair," Lacy answered.
Samantha squealed and ran to Aurora in the kitchen. She picked the baby up and flew with her around the kitchen. Lacy didn’t understand why the twins loved flying her around but it made Aurora smile and laugh.
"What’s with all this paper work everywhere?"
"Don’t touch it! We found some shit at the company. We’re being stolen from," Salmona explained. "We asked Kareen to come and watch the office while we shift through these paperwork and video game footage to try and put things together."
Sasha stepped outside the next morning for practice and saw Eziekal waiting for her by her car. She rolled her eyes when saw him.
"Are you not interested in your baby?" She asked, mockingly at the Alpha.
Sasha sighed and opened her car door. Actually she did want to see her child but she wasn’t sure how to go about it. She got into the car while Eziekal remained on the other side.
"I know you want to see her?"
"Its a girl?"
Eziekal nodded his head. He waved his hand and walked off to continue on with his early morning walk.