I called Caroline back immediately.

Straight to voicemail.

I tried again.

Nothing.

Margaret was already reaching for her phone.

“Give me her address. I’ll contact the appropriate authorities and ask them to check on her.””

I gave her the information from Caroline’s personnel file.

“She’s worked for me for five years,” I said.

“She knows every detail of my schedule. If she’s in danger, this isn’t random.””

“Then we treat it seriously,” Margaret replied.

Within minutes, she had contacted the police and requested a welfare check. Thomas arranged for hotel security to preserve the footage from the parking garage and executive entrance.

I remained in my office, staring at the disconnected call on my screen.

Caroline had sounded terrified.

Not nervous.

Terrified.

And she’d said she knew what Daniel had done.

At 12:37 a.m., Margaret received a call from an officer.

Caroline’s apartment was empty.

Her front door had been left unlocked. Her purse and wallet were inside, but her car was gone.

There were no obvious signs of a struggle.

“Did they find her phone?”” I asked.

Margaret shook her head after ending the call.

“Not yet. The police are checking nearby cameras and contacting hospitals.””

I paced the length of the office.

“Someone is threatening my employee because she knows about stolen charity money. How can I sit here waiting?””

“Because rushing in without evidence could make things worse,” Margaret said firmly.

“You can help by giving the police everything you know.””

She was right.

I hated that she was right.

At one in the morning, I returned to the ballroom to check on the remaining staff. Most guests had left, but the cleanup crew was still working beneath the chandeliers.

Jasmine was collecting abandoned glasses near the stage.

When she saw me, she hurried over.

“Miss Bennett, have you heard anything about Caroline?””

I stopped.

“How do you know she’s missing?””

Jasmine’s face went pale.

“I saw her earlier. She was in the service corridor, arguing with Mr. Cole.””

“Stephen Cole?””

She nodded.

“What time?””

“About ten-thirty. I was taking a tray to the kitchen when I heard them. Caroline said she wouldn’t keep covering for him anymore.””

“What did Stephen say?””

Jasmine looked over her shoulder before answering.

“He told her she was making a terrible mistake. Then he said, ‘Daniel promised this would be finished before Olivia found out.””

My heart began pounding.

“Did you hear anything else?””

“Caroline said she had copies of the original documents. Stephen asked where she’d hidden them.””

“Did she tell him?””

“No. She walked away, and he followed her toward the parking garage.””

I took out my phone.

“Jasmine, I need you to write down exactly what you remember. Don’t guess, and don’t fill in anything you didn’t hear. I’ll pass it to the police.””

She nodded.

Then she hesitated.

“There’s something else I didn’t tell you before.””

I waited.

“Caroline came to the staff cafeteria about a month ago. She sat with a few of us and asked whether anyone had noticed unusual things happening with the charity accounts.””

“Why would she ask the waitstaff?””

“Because she didn’t trust the finance department. She said some employees had been asked to sign delivery receipts for donations that never arrived.””

That was new.

“How many employees?””

“Three that I know of. One of them was a kitchen assistant named Marcus. He refused to sign, and his supervisor cut his shifts.””

I wrote down Marcus’s name.

“Can you help me contact him?””

“He’s working tonight. I’ll find him.””

Jasmine hurried toward the kitchen.

I stood alone beneath the ballroom’s enormous chandelier, looking at the tables where wealthy donors had celebrated our generosity just hours earlier.

We’d promised the public that every dollar would help children.

Someone had turned that promise into a business opportunity.

And the employees who knew the truth had been pressured into silence.

A few minutes later, Jasmine returned with a tall young man in a white kitchen jacket.

“This is Marcus Hill,” she said.

Marcus looked nervous.

“Miss Bennett, I didn’t steal anything.””

“I don’t believe you did. Jasmine tells me you were asked to sign receipts for deliveries you never received.””

He glanced toward the kitchen doors.

“Can we talk somewhere private?””

I led him to a small meeting room near the service elevators. Margaret joined us, bringing a notebook and a voice recorder. She explained that we would preserve his account and that he should tell us only what he personally remembered.

Marcus took a seat.

“About six weeks ago, a delivery truck was supposed to bring medical equipment for a charity event,” he began.

“The paperwork said the shipment was worth seventy-five thousand dollars.””

“Did the equipment arrive?”” I asked.