Sarah read the alert twice before speaking. "Somebody is trying to alter the record."
"Do we know who?" Darius asked.
"We know which credentials and terminal were used. We do not yet know who was physically present, or whether the technician was acting on another person's instructions. Those are facts for the investigation."
Martin asked her to preserve the alert and disable the terminal's privileged access pending review. He also directed the team to notify the appropriate regulators and law-enforcement contacts through established channels if the evidence supported suspected obstruction. Darius felt a grim satisfaction rising and immediately checked it. He wanted Harlon held accountable, but he did not want to build a case out of an assumption and hand the man a reason to dismiss everything else.
A second attempt followed, this time aimed at a security-video index. The attempt failed for the same reason. An authorized system recorded the request, the user account, the target data, and the result. Sarah printed a summary for Martin while another team member began arranging a formal interview with the technician. Nobody in the room celebrated. If people were attempting to destroy evidence after being told to preserve it, the bank's problem was deeper than public humiliation and bad customer service.
At one fifteen, Harlon called an employee who had once worked in his office. The employee, aware of the litigation hold, refused to discuss bank records and directed him to human resources. At two, Pamela's office asked Sarah to explain why the audit team had placed restrictions on regional administrative accounts. Sarah responded with the written authority from the audit committee and copied Martin. Pamela did not reply.
By late afternoon the team had collected enough material to support a briefing to the board and regulators. There was also news on Loretta's personal account: the settlement administrator was prepared to replace the destroyed check through a verified electronic transfer to an independent escrow arrangement, subject to the final administrative paperwork. The bank's broader freeze on her personal accounts remained under emergency review because no one had supplied a documented basis for it. Martin expected to challenge it formally that evening.
Darius drove to his mother's home with a copy of the administrator's confirmation. She met him on the porch before he reached the steps. Her hands were covered in potting soil; she had spent the afternoon moving violets into larger containers because she could not bear another day sitting beside the telephone.
"Is the house safe?" she asked.
"We have a lawful path to get the taxes paid before the deadline. I won't tell you it's finished until you have the county receipt. But we're much closer than we were yesterday."
She closed her eyes briefly. "Thank God."
"There's going to be a community meeting tonight. Deacon Briggs helped organize it. Some people who had similar problems want to tell their stories publicly, and the independent team can explain the steps being taken without exposing private account information."