"A source. Someone who claimed to have insider knowledge about authentication fraud at Stone Bridge Winery.” Sarah pulled out her phone. "I have the email chain if you want to see it."
"Please." Walter stepped forward
Sarah pulled up her email and scrolled to a thread with several messages. Devon leaned in to read, and his stomach dropped as he stared at the source's name.
“Gabriel Maxwell is your source?” Devon blinked, scrolling through the conversation, reading the words, but not really comprehending them.
“That’s what the email says.”
“What emails from me?” Gabe asked as he stepped through the doorway.
Devon held out the phone.
"That's not from me," Gabe said, tucking several folders under his arm. "I never sent those emails."
"But it has your name," Sarah said, confusion evident. "Your email address—[email protected]."
"That's not my email," Gabe said flatly. "My work email is [email protected]. I don’t have a Gmail account. My wife does, but that’s in her name. Someone must have created a fake account using my name."
He spread the folders on the coffee table, pulling out authentication records with Emery's actual signature and comparing them to the forged documents. Even to Devon'suntrained eye, the differences were noticeable—different paper stock, different formatting, subtle variations in the signature.
"These are the real authentication records," Gabe said, pointing to his documents. "Note the watermark on the paper—Stone Bridge custom stock. Note the authentication codes in accordance with our new protocol. And here—" he pointed to Emery's signature, "—the real signature has a distinctive loop in the 'y' that the forgeries are missing."
Sarah stared at the documents, her professional composure cracking. “I don’t understand. Why would someone set me up like this?”
“Correction. Someone set up Emery. You’re just the delivery person,” Devon said.
The doorbell rang, and moments later, Sandy appeared in the family room, still in uniform, her expression all business.
“Someone want to tell me what’s going on?” she asked.
Devon gestured to the documents spread across the coffee table. "Someone created forged authentication records with Emery's signature, then sent them to Sarah Martinez, claiming Emery was fabricating provenance for Stone Bridge wines. They used a fake email account with Gabe's name to make it look like he was the whistleblower."
Sandy pulled on gloves and began examining the documents without touching them directly. "Who had access to Emery's signature? Her authentication stamp?"
“Me, Bryson, Devon, and Walter," Gabe said. "We keep records in a shared filing system. The authentication records are duplicated. I always have a copy in the production facility, and Walter keeps a copy in the home office.”
“I moved my stamp,” Emery said quietly. “It’s locked in a cabinet. I did that after the break-in.”
"Smart," Sandy said. "But someone could have copied it before then."
“These documents were in the guesthouse the night of the break-in,” Devon said.
Sandy turned to Sarah. "I'm going to need those emails. All of them. And any other communication you’ve had with this supposed source."
"Of course." Sarah was already forwarding everything to Sandy's email. "I should have verified the source more thoroughly. I just—the documentation looked legitimate. Professional. And the source claimed to have worked closely with Ms. Tate."
"How and when did they contact you initially?" Sandy asked.
Sarah scrolled through her emails. "Three days ago. Said they had information about fraud at Stone Bridge Winery, that they couldn't stay silent anymore after watching authentication records being fabricated. They sent samples of the forged documents to prove they had access."
"And you didn't think to call us first?" Walter's voice was calm but carried an edge.
"I was trying to protect my source and get the full story before approaching you," Sarah admitted. "In hindsight, that was a mistake."
"In hindsight, you almost destroyed an innocent woman's reputation," Bryson said.
Sandy held up a hand. "We'll sort this out. Sarah, I'm going to need you to forward any future communications from this person directly to me. Don't respond, don't engage, just forward."
