Chapter 59: The Connection

A knock sounded.

"Come in."

Elias entered.

He wore the same understated suit he’d chosen for his previous interviews and carried no folder.

After three weeks of tests, medical examinations, authorizations, and actual driving, he apparently considered the paperwork portion finished.

Alexander gestured toward the chair.

"Mr. Navarro."

"Sir."

"May I call you Elias?"

"Of course."

Elias sat.

Then, after the briefest pause:

"How would you prefer I address you?"

"Mr. Vance."

"Understood."

Joe sat slightly behind Alexander rather than joining the conversation.

Elias noticed.

His expression didn’t change.

Alexander skipped the pleasantries.

"Who is Maribel Ortega?"

For the first time since entering, Elias paused.

Not long.

Just enough.

"My former partner."

"Former?"

"Yes."

"You listed her as your emergency contact in an older employment record."

"I did."

"The associated number no longer works, and she no longer lives at the address listed there."

"We separated."

"How long ago?"

"Seven months."

"The address?"

"Our former rental. I moved after we separated. My present address is the one your investigators verified."

So far, everything aligned with the report.

Alexander continued.

"Where did Ms.Ortega work while you were together?"

Elias looked directly at him.

"For Mrs. Victoria Sebastian."

Joe’s gaze sharpened.

Elias showed no surprise.

He didn’t pretend he didn’t understand why that mattered.

"In what capacity?"

"Household staff when we met. Later, she handled more of Mrs. Sebastian’s personal household arrangements."

"How long were you together?"

"Twelve years."

That was longer than Alexander expected.

"Did she discuss the Sebastian family with you?"

"Sometimes."

"What kind of things?"

Elias considered the question.

"Normal complaints. Long hours. Schedule changes. Guests arriving unexpectedly. Mrs. Sebastian being particular about certain arrangements."

"Dominic?"

"Occasionally."

"And me?"

A slightly longer pause.

"Your name came up."

Joe looked toward Alexander.

"In what context?"

"Mostly because Mrs. Sebastian spoke about you."

"What did she say?"

"I don’t remember the exact wording."

"Generally."

Elias shifted slightly.

"That you and Dominic were expected to marry someday. That the families had been close for years."

Nothing Alexander didn’t already know.

Still, hearing how thoroughly Victoria’s expectations had filtered through her household left an unpleasant taste.

"Did Victoria Sebastian tell you to apply for this position?"

"No."

"Maribel?"

"No."

"Dominic?"

"No."

"Anyone connected to them?"

"No, Mr. Vance."

"How did you find the vacancy?"

"The classified advertisement."

"Which one?"

Elias named the recruitment platform.

Alexander already knew the position had been advertised there.

"Why apply?"

"I wanted stable long-term work."

"You had work."

"Contract fleet work."

"Why leave?"

"The hours had become unpredictable, and the contract wasn’t guaranteed to renew."

Joe spoke for the first time.

"You knew whose driver you were applying to become."

Elias turned toward him.

"Yes."

"And you knew Maribel had worked for the Sebastian household."

"Yes."

"Did it occur to you that we’d eventually find that?"

"Yes."

Joe raised an eyebrow.

"Then why didn’t you disclose it?"

That took longer.

Finally:

"Because my former partner’s employer isn’t part of my work history."

Fair.

But incomplete.

Alexander leaned back.

"This isn’t an ordinary driving job."

"I know."

"You’ll hear business discussions. You’ll know where I’m going, when I’m alone, which family members I visit, and where."

"I understand."

"And twelve years with someone inside Victoria Sebastian’s household didn’t strike you as relevant?"

Elias’s jaw tightened slightly.

"I thought volunteering it without being asked would make it look as though I believed the relationship mattered to my application."

"And now?"

"Now I understand why it matters to you."

That answer was better.

"Are you still in contact with Maribel?"

"No."

"None?"

"No."

"Why did you separate?"

Elias’s expression changed.

"Is that necessary?"

"It may be."

A long breath.

"She wanted to get married."

"And you didn’t?"

"I did."

Alexander waited.

"She wanted me to move with her."

"Where?"

"Another city. She’d left Mrs. Sebastian’s household and wanted a fresh start."

"And you stayed."

"My children are here."

"Children?"

"Two. Adults. From my first marriage."

That matched the background report.

"So you and Maribel separated."

"Yes."

"Badly?"

"No."

"If she contacted you tomorrow, would you answer?"

Elias thought carefully.

"If she needed help, yes."

Alexander appreciated that answer more than an absolute denial.

He closed the file.

Elias watched him.

"I assume I’m no longer being considered."

"No."

That surprised him.

Alexander continued.

"The permanent position will come with a five-month probationary period."

Elias raised an eyebrow.

"I understood there would be probation."

"There would’ve been three months."

Joe glanced toward Alexander.

Apparently, that was news to him too.

"The additional two months are because there’s a connection I can’t ignore, even though there’s currently nothing proving it means anything."

Elias nodded slowly.

"Understood."

"Your access will remain limited to what the position requires. You don’t photograph schedules, documents, visitors, or locations unless specifically instructed. What you hear in the vehicle stays there."

"Understood."

"If Maribel contacts you, Security is informed."

Elias frowned.

"Even if it’s personal?"

"You report that contact occurred. The contents remain private unless they concern me, Vance Holdings, or the Sebastian family."

That seemed reasonable enough.

"And if Victoria Sebastian contacts you?"

"I report it immediately."

"Dominic?"

"Immediately."

"Anyone claiming to contact you for either of them?"

"The same."

Alexander nodded.

Elias looked at Joe, then back at him.

"You’re still offering me the job?"

"Provisionally."

"Why?"

"Because so far, your only mistake has been underestimating what I’d consider relevant."

A trace of relief appeared.

"That can be corrected."

"We’ll find out."

Joe smiled.

"There it is."

Elias looked at him.

"What?"

"The actual final interview."

Alexander gave Joe a flat look.

"You’ve enjoyed this process far too much."

"I’m retiring. Let me have something."

That loosened the room enough for Elias to smile.

Alexander extended his hand.

"Five months."

Elias stood and accepted it.

"Five months."

After Elias left, Joe remained behind.

"You trust him?"

"No."

Joe raised an eyebrow.

Alexander added:

"Not yet."

"Better answer."

"I trust what we’ve verified."

"And everything else?"

"I pay attention."

Joe nodded.

That was enough.

He pushed himself out of the chair.

"So when does he start?"

"Monday."

Joe smiled.

"I’ll train him."

"I thought you were retiring."

"I said three months. You’re not getting rid of me tomorrow."

Alexander looked almost offended.

"Good."

Joe laughed and headed for the door.

Across the city, Andrei Sebastian had just finished signing the last document on his desk when his phone vibrated.

His new title was already printed beneath his name.

Chief Executive Officer.

No interim designation.

No temporary qualifier.

Dominic remained on sabbatical.

Victoria had accepted the arrangement with suspicious calm.

Andrei trusted suspicious calm considerably less than open hostility.

The message came from an unknown number.

He almost ignored it.

Then he opened it.

There was no greeting.

No explanation.

Only a photograph.

A man walking out of Vance Holdings.

And beneath it:

They found the connection to Maribel.

Andrei’s expression changed.

He immediately called the number.

Disconnected.

He tried again.

Nothing.

Andrei stood.

Who is the man in the photograph leaving Vance Holdings?

More importantly...

Why had they sent him the warning?

He looked at the photograph again.

Then at the name.

Maribel Ortega.