Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Inside Gabriel's Own Organization
The following Monday, Anna arrived at work to discover that her company's internal systems had been accessed overnight.
Several files connected to the Rizzo investigation had been copied.
Others had been altered.
The original records remained intact because the compliance team had stored them in a protected archive, but the attempted access had triggered an automatic security alert.
Helen called an emergency meeting.
Anna sat at the conference table with the legal team and two independent investigators.
“Someone used an employee credential to access the restricted folder,” Helen explained. “The account belonged to a senior analyst who was on vacation.”
“Was the credential stolen?” Anna asked.
“We don't know. The access came from a remote connection associated with a virtual private network. The source location has not been confirmed.”
One investigator placed a printed list on the table.
“The files accessed include the account restriction schedule, the ownership chart, and the preliminary transaction analysis.”
Anna studied the list.
“They were looking for the timing of the restrictions.”
“Yes.”
“Did they download the underlying transactions?”
“Some of them.”
She felt cold.
If the investigators could no longer establish which version of the file was authentic, the entire case could become harder to prove.
Helen seemed to read her thoughts.
“The original records are preserved. The altered copies have been isolated. We will continue through the authorized review process.”
Anna nodded.
But as the meeting ended, she noticed something that disturbed her.
The access time coincided with a transfer request submitted by a company associated with Marcus Vale.
The same adviser Gabriel suspected of leaking information to the Rizzos.
Anna informed Helen.
“It's a relevant connection,” Helen said. “But we cannot assume that it identifies the person responsible. We need evidence.”
Anna agreed.
She understood the importance of not turning suspicion into certainty.
That afternoon, Gabriel received a call from Rebecca.
“The access incident has been reported to the investigators. The compromised credential may have been used to alter documents connected to the Romano companies.”
“Has Vale been informed?”
“No.”
“Good. Keep it that way until the forensic review is complete.”
Gabriel spent the next several hours examining records with his legal team.
By the end of the review, the picture had become clearer.
Marcus Vale had been communicating with Anthony Rizzo through an intermediary company. Several payments had been disguised as consulting fees. The same company had paid Peter Walsh, the security employee who disabled the garage cameras.
But the evidence was not limited to money.
Messages recovered from Vale's business phone showed that he had provided the Rizzos with information about Anna's work schedule and the timing of the account restrictions.
One message read:
She is stubborn. Pressure may be necessary.
Another said:
Do not damage the laptop. The list is more important than the device.
Gabriel stared at the screen.
He had trusted Vale with sensitive information for almost ten years.
They had attended business meetings together, traveled to conferences, and negotiated contracts that shaped the legitimate side of the Romano organization.
Vale had presented himself as a practical man who believed in loyalty.
Apparently, his loyalty had always depended on the price offered by someone else.
Gabriel ordered an immediate internal audit.
Every account linked to Vale was locked pending review, and all relevant records were transferred to independent investigators.
He did not summon Vale for a private confrontation.
He did not threaten him.
He wanted the evidence preserved, and he wanted the authorities to determine what happened next.
That evening, Vale called.
“Gabriel, why have my accounts been frozen?”
Gabriel stood beside his desk.
“Because they are under investigation.”
“On whose authority?”
“Mine, pending legal review.”
“You cannot do this without a discussion.”
“I can when there is evidence that company resources were used to interfere with a criminal investigation.”
Vale was silent.
Then he laughed.
“You have become weak.”
“No,” Gabriel replied. “I've become careful about who I trust.”
“You're going to regret this.”
“Perhaps. But I would rather regret asking questions than regret ignoring the evidence.”
The call ended.
Within an hour, Vale disappeared from his office.
His access card was used to enter a private parking garage, but the vehicle he normally drove remained in its space.
Nico called Gabriel immediately.
“We can't locate him.”
“Have the authorities been informed?”
“Yes. The investigators have the access records and the messages.”
“Then we wait for verified information. Nobody conducts a private search that could compromise the case.”
Nico paused.
“You're allowing the law to handle this.”
“That's what the evidence is for.”
The next morning, Anna received a telephone call from the police.
Christopher Lane had asked to speak with investigators again.
He wanted to provide additional information about the people who had pressured him to obtain the account list.
Anna felt no sympathy for what he had done.
But she understood that the information might help establish the truth.
She agreed to provide a supplementary statement through her lawyer.
Christopher's interview took place in a secure room at the courthouse.
Anna was not required to see him.
She sat in a separate office while her lawyer and an investigator explained what he had admitted.
Christopher claimed he had accumulated substantial gambling debts. When he could not repay them, a man connected to Anthony Rizzo approached him with an offer.
He would receive enough money to clear the debt if he obtained Anna's restricted account list.
Christopher initially refused.
Then he was shown photographs of Anna's apartment building, her car, and her workplace.
The man told him that Anna would cooperate if he reminded her what she stood to lose.
Christopher admitted that he had accepted the offer.
He also admitted that he knew about the restraining order.
He had convinced himself that a private conversation was not a serious violation because Anna had once loved him.
When he realized that she would not surrender the laptop voluntarily, he brought the tire iron to frighten her.
The investigators asked whether he had intended to strike her.
Christopher claimed that he had not planned to injure her.
Anna closed her eyes when she heard that part.
She had spent too long with a man who believed that the absence of an actual injury made his behavior acceptable.
She was relieved that he had been stopped.
She was not interested in forgiving him.
The interview produced another important detail.
Christopher had received instructions from a man who used the name Daniel Price.
The same name belonged to the security officer Gabriel had arranged to stand outside Anna's apartment.
Anna immediately contacted the police.
She also called Gabriel.
“I need to know why your security arrangement involved someone connected to Christopher.”
Gabriel was silent for several seconds.
“It shouldn't have.”
“That's not an answer.”
“No,” he agreed. “It's not.”
He explained that Daniel Price had been contracted through a legitimate security company. The company had passed its initial background checks, but the investigators now suspected one of its subcontractors had been used to obtain information for the Rizzos.
“Did you know?” Anna asked.
“No.”
“Can you prove that?”
“I can provide the contracts, payment records, and background checks to the investigators. They can determine what happened.”
Anna appreciated that he did not ask her to take his word for it.
She also knew that the connection could not be ignored.
“I need to step back from all personal contact while this is investigated,” she said.
Gabriel's voice was quiet.
“I understand.”
“I don't want anyone assigned to watch me, even if you think it helps.”
“No one will be assigned without your consent.”
“And I don't want you contacting my employer outside the formal process.”
“Agreed.”
Anna took a breath.
“I know you helped me in the garage. I haven't forgotten that. But I cannot be part of a situation where your security company and the people threatening me may be connected.”
“You're right.”
The ease with which he agreed hurt more than she expected.
She had wanted him to offer an explanation that would make the problem disappear.
Instead, he acknowledged that her concerns were valid.
“Thank you,” she said.
When she ended the call, she sat alone at her desk.
She had spent months learning how to recognize manipulation before it became impossible to resist. She would not abandon those instincts simply because Gabriel had behaved well in one dangerous moment.
Across the city, Gabriel instructed Rebecca to suspend the security contract involving Daniel Price's employer and provide all records to the investigators.
Nico looked troubled.
“Do you realize how this will appear?”
“Yes.”
“If the Rizzos have penetrated our security operation, they may already know everything we do.”
“Then we rebuild the operation with independent oversight.”
“That could take months.”
“Then it takes months.”
Nico stared at him.
“You are risking the organization.”
Gabriel looked at the evidence spread across his desk.
“No. We risked the organization by allowing people like Vale to believe they could operate without scrutiny.”
He paused.
“And we risked Anna by assuming that a good intention made an unauthorized decision acceptable.”
Nico did not answer.
Gabriel had finally understood the difference between helping someone and controlling them.
It was an uncomfortable lesson.
It was also one he could not afford to forget.
Two days later, Anna learned that the police had recovered additional messages connecting Marcus Vale to the Rizzo network.
The investigators believed Vale had helped coordinate the information leak, the garage access, and the attempted intimidation.
His whereabouts remained unknown.
Then, on Friday morning, Anna received a call from Claire.
Her sister sounded frightened.
“Anna, I need you to listen carefully.”
“What happened?”
“There was a man outside my apartment building last night. He asked the doorman whether I was your sister.”
Anna felt her stomach drop.
“Did he approach you?”
“No. The doorman refused to give him information, and he left.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Yes. They took a statement.”
Anna stood so quickly that her chair rolled backward.
“They're going after you because of me.”
“Don't do that.”
“Claire—”
“You are not responsible for their decisions.”
“But—”
“Anna, listen to me. I know you're frightened, but I'm safe. I have cameras, the building has security, and the police know what happened. I need you to stay focused on what you can control.”
Anna closed her eyes.
Claire was right.
She could not allow the people threatening them to turn fear into a reason to abandon the investigation.
But she could not ignore the growing danger, either.
She called her lawyer and reported the new incident.
Then she contacted the investigators and asked whether her sister's information could be included in the broader case.
They agreed.
By the end of the day, the authorities had identified a vehicle used by one of the individuals who had approached Claire's building.
The registration led to a company connected to Anthony Rizzo.
The pattern was no longer difficult to recognize.
The Rizzos were targeting people close to anyone who refused to cooperate.
And they were becoming increasingly careless about leaving evidence behind.
That night, Gabriel received the same information.
He stood in his office while Nico explained the connection.
“The investigators have enough to establish a link between the Rizzo company and the surveillance outside Claire's building,” Nico said.
Gabriel nodded.
“Send the relevant records to Rebecca and the investigators.”
“What about Anna?”
“Inform her lawyer through the established channel. We don't approach her personally.”
Nico hesitated.
“You care about her.”
Gabriel looked out the window.
“Yes.”
It was the first time he had said it aloud.
Nico waited.
Gabriel continued.
“That does not give me the right to make her decisions.”
He turned back toward the desk.
“Find every remaining connection between Vale and the Rizzos. If there are other people inside our organization helping them, I want the evidence preserved and reported.”
May you like
The investigation had become a test of whether Gabriel could separate his private feelings from his public responsibilities.
For the first time, he was determined to pass.
