Nick addressed Ethan and Tony on the phone. "After transferring those essential data files, I need you to go to our headquarters and retrieve all the old physical files from the 'Documents' section—the ones spanning the last twenty years."
"The section where all the old physical documents are archived?" Ethan confirmed.
"Yes," Nick said.
It was 1 AM when Tony and Ethan finally arrived back at the house, bringing their working laptops and the required physical documents. Ellie immediately started searching through the digital files they had retrieved, but the old system's data was incredibly slow to process.
Ethan turned to Tony. "Tony, you're good with cybersecurity. Can you try to find who exactly edited that fraudulent agreement document?"
"Yes, I'll try," Tony replied, immediately getting to work on his laptop.
Nick, Ethan, and Freya began sifting through the physical records, searching for the old CEO records for that critical twenty-year period. After some time, they each had a handful of CEO names.
"This CEO, Jude Law, expired two years ago," Ethan noted, checking the death certificate. "Also, he didn't sign any new agreements during his tenure."
"Felix Smith retired," Nick said, looking at his list. "But he signed a few agreements, and we have no problem with those—they're current and paid up."
Freya looked up. "I'm looking at Peter Paul. He signed only one agreement, which is this 'Five Star Softwares' agreement."
Everyone focused on her.
"But the file copy is missing from the physical archive," Freya added.
"I’ve heard the name Peter Paul before, but not in a good way," Ethan recalled. "I think he didn't leave our company on good terms."
"Freya, can you go through the files related to his dismissal a little deeper?" Nick urged.
Freya scanned the old HR files. "You're right, Ethan. This guy got fired from our company."
"What was the reason?" Nick asked.
"Money laundering," Freya read out. "He tried to procure massive debts by fraudulently using our company name, but he was caught, and the board members fired him."
Tony, working on his laptop, found Peter Paul's picture and showed it to Nick. "I think he is the founder of that MLM company. Nick, do you remember this guy? He came to our old office once to meet our former CEO."
Nick looked at the photo, recognition dawning. "Yes, I remember. But his company is involved in a lot of fraudulent activities and doesn't have a good reputation."
Ethan considered this new information. "Do you think this guy would be involved in this lawsuit?"
Before Nick could answer, Ellie let out a triumphant gasp. "Yes! I found it! I found the original file!"
Nick rushed to her side. Ellie had successfully navigated the old server backup. "Look at this," she said excitedly. "All the pages are exactly the same, but the crucial financial details on the last page are completely different. The main details—the payment amount and the automatic ten percent increase—got edited in the fraudulent copy!"
Everyone's face brightened, relief washing over the room. They now had the evidence they needed.
