"Five people.Two board members, Duncan himself, Richard, and..."
"And?"
"Me."
She blinks.“The board thinks you did this?"
"No.But the system logs would suggest either me, Richard, or Duncan."
"Richard's in Iceland."
"But still has remote login capabilities."
She drums her fingers on the table."Did you ever spend any real time with Duncan in person before all this?"
"Many times.We've been circling each other for years.He was actually at my cousin's wedding last summer."I pause, a memory surfacing."He cornered me after the ceremony to grill me about acquisition plans.Said he'd sooner die than sell to me."
"Yet now he's negotiating?"
"His board forced his hand.The company's valuation peaked last quarter.It's sell now or watch it decline."
"So he has motive to sabotage the deal," she muses."Or at least drive down the price."
"Precisely."
"What about personal history?Any bad blood beyond business?"
I hesitate, then decide there's nothing to lose."He dated my grandmother.Briefly.Before she married my grandfather."
Karina's eyebrows shoot up."Your grandmother and Duncan MacTavish?"
"A minor Scottish scandal in the 1950s, apparently.My grandfather won her heart, much to Duncan's chagrin."
"So this is what—a seventy-year grudge?"
"Scots have long memories."
"Clearly."She taps her chin."Does Fiona know about our investigation?"
"God, no.She'd be calling in favors from Edinburgh to London.The last thing we need is her meddling."
"Speaking of meddling..."She looks up at me."Why is your grandmother suddenly so invested in this deal?From what little you've shared, she's never been involved in company operations before."
I busy myself with the laptop, avoiding her gaze."She feels responsible.For the company's foundation."
"How so?"
I sigh, carefully selecting which parts of the story to share."When I was sixteen, my father lost nearly everything.Bad investments.The family shipping business, our ancestral estate, all of it—gone.While he...struggled with the aftermath, Fiona and I salvaged what we could."
"She helped you start over," Karina says softly.
"She mortgaged her dower house to fund my first security software prototype.Said the Abernathy name would mean something again, even if it wasn't in shipping."I can hear the edge in my voice."She was right."
Karina watches me with an expression I can't read."And your mother?"
My throat tightens at the question.
I look away, focusing on the Seattle skyline as memories threaten to surface."Left.Couldn't bear the reduced circumstances, apparently."The half-truth comes out more bitterly than intended."Returned to her American family.She sends Christmas cards."
