Chapter 6 - The Other Camille Laurent
By noon, the story was everywhere.
WAITRESS HUMILIATED AT DELACROIX PARTY HALTS €68 MILLION PROJECT.
The headline appeared first on a gossip site.
Then a financial blog.
Then television.
Videos from the terrace spread faster than Camille’s legal team could respond.
Every clip began with Victoire shoving Camille.
Every clip ended with Camille refusing to sign.
None included the earlier audit findings.
None mentioned the twelve million euros.
None mentioned Vesper.
The narrative was perfect.
A humiliated employee discovered she had power over wealthy people and used it for revenge.
Camille watched one segment from a conference room at Bernard’s office.
The commentator laughed.
“If this isn’t personal retaliation, I don’t know what is.”
Camille muted the television.
Bernard stood at the table surrounded by attorneys.
“The emergency hearing is at four.”
“So fast?”
“Vesper requested immediate intervention.”
“They aren’t even a party to the development agreement.”
“They acquired one of the bridge lenders this morning.”
Julian looked up.
“This morning?”
Bernard nodded.
“Forty-three minutes before filing.”
Camille almost admired the preparation.
“They built standing overnight.”
“No,” Morel said from the window.
“They built it months ago.”
Everyone turned.
He had spent the morning tracing the false medical identity.
“The clinic records began seven months ago.”
Camille crossed her arms.
“Where?”
“Zurich.”
“I haven’t been to Zurich in two years.”
“The woman using your identity has.”
Morel placed photographs on the table.
Surveillance stills.
A brunette entering a private neurological clinic.
Same height as Camille.
Similar build.
Face hidden beneath sunglasses.
“She attended six appointments.”
“For what?”
“Early-onset cognitive impairment.”
Bernard cursed.
Camille studied the woman.
“They created a medical trail.”
“Yes.”
“Why seven months ago?”
Morel looked at her.
“Because they knew the Azure Crown signature would come due now.”
The scale of it became clear.
The theft.
The false medical records.
The party scandal.
The public humiliation.
The legal petition.
Everything had been prepared.
Victoire’s shove was not the beginning.
It was merely the visible part.
Camille looked at the photograph again.
“Find her.”
“Working on it.”
“Faster.”
Morel almost smiled.
There she was again.
Her father’s daughter.
At 3:55, Camille entered the commercial court.
Reporters crowded the steps.
Questions flew.
“Ms. Laurent, did you suspend the project because of Victoire Delacroix?”
“Are you medically capable of serving as trustee?”
“Were you employed as a waitress?”
“Did you misrepresent your identity?”
Camille said nothing.
Inside, the courtroom was full.
Vesper’s attorney spoke first.
He presented the videos.
The medical records.
Statements from guests.
A petition requesting temporary suspension of Camille’s trustee authority.
Then Bernard stood.
He presented the time-stamped suspension memorandum.
Created hours before the party.
The judge examined it.
Vesper’s attorney objected.
“Digital records can be manipulated.”
Julian provided the independent archival verification.
The first argument collapsed.
Then Bernard challenged the medical files.
“We contend that another individual fraudulently used Ms. Laurent’s identity.”
Vesper’s attorney smiled.
“Convenient.”
The judge looked at Camille.
“Ms. Laurent, would you consent to an independent medical evaluation?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
The attorney’s smile weakened.
The judge ordered an examination.
Then something unexpected happened.
Étienne Delacroix entered the courtroom.
Victoire followed.
Whispers spread.
Étienne requested permission to address the court.
Vesper’s attorney objected.
The judge allowed limited testimony.
Étienne took the stand.
He confirmed Camille had been conducting an authorized integrity audit.
He confirmed the Delacroix group had agreed to undercover compliance inspections.
He confirmed Camille had acted within the contract.
Then Vesper’s attorney asked one question.
“Mr. Delacroix, are you currently under investigation for transferring twelve million euros from Azure Crown reserves?”
The courtroom erupted in whispers.
Étienne’s face hardened.
“Yes.”
Victoire looked at him in shock.
Camille watched her.
She truly had not known.
The attorney smiled.
“So you have every reason to support Ms. Laurent, since she controls whether those transfers are reported to criminal authorities.”
Étienne looked toward Camille.
Then back at the lawyer.
“No.”
“No?”
“I support her because someone threatened to kill my daughter.”
Victoire stood.
“What?”
The judge ordered silence.
Étienne continued.
Vesper’s attorney lost his smile.
Étienne described the Milan photograph.
The threats.
The forced transfer.
Not every detail.
But enough.
Then the judge asked the question Camille had feared.
“Do you have evidence?”
Étienne reached into his coat.
Camille expected him to produce the threatening messages.
Instead, he froze.
His pocket was empty.
His face drained.
“They were here.”
The attorney smiled again.
“No evidence?”
Étienne searched another pocket.
Nothing.
Someone had removed the drive.
Camille looked around the courtroom.
Dozens of people.
Lawyers.
Reporters.
Security.
Victoire.
Morel.
Julian.
Bernard.
Then she noticed Amelia.
Standing at the rear entrance.
Camille’s breath caught.
Amelia smiled.
Turned.
And disappeared into the corridor.
Camille rose immediately.
Bernard grabbed her arm.
“Where are you going?”
“Amelia.”
Bernard looked back.
Too late.
Camille ran into the corridor.
She saw Amelia entering an elevator.
“Amelia!”
The doors began closing.
Amelia looked directly at her.
For one second, neither woman moved.
Then Amelia lifted a small silver flash drive.
Étienne’s missing evidence.
The doors closed.
Camille reached the elevator too late.
Her phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
May you like
STOP LOOKING UNDER E-17.
OR NEXT TIME THE BULLET WILL NOT MISS.
