Chapter 7 - THE DINER
Nobody fired a shot.
That disappointed Larkin’s security team.
Good.
The Marconi men entered wearing suits and polite faces.
Their leader introduced himself as Victor Marconi.
Fifty.
Silver hair.
Perfect manners.
Terrifying eyes.
He looked at me first.
“Ms. Woods.”
“I keep meeting people who know me.”
“You’ve had an expensive year.”
“I didn’t enjoy it.”
Victor almost smiled.
Then looked at Daniel.
“You took money.”
Daniel replied:
“I prevented Thomas from stealing it permanently.”
“By stealing it temporarily?”
“Semantics.”
Victor’s eyes moved to Larkin.
“Your house is messy.”
Larkin answered:
“Still standing.”
Then Victor sat across from me.
No invitation.
“I want my money.”
I said:
“I don’t have it.”
“Your company does.”
“Not my company.”
“The law may disagree.”
“My lawyer won’t.”
Marcus, sitting beside me, looked pleased.
Victor’s smile vanished.
Then he said:
“Thomas told us you were his financial partner.”
“Thomas lies.”
“Yes.”
He looked genuinely annoyed.
“Frequently.”
Interesting.
“You’re working with him?”
“Were.”
Past tense.
“What changed?”
“He offered something twice.”
“Meaning?”
“He promised your warehouses to us.”
Then sold access to another family.
Larkin’s face hardened.
Thomas had betrayed everyone.
Efficient.
Victor continued:
“We no longer need him.”
I did not like what that implied.
“You’re not killing him.”
The table went silent.
Larkin looked at me.
Daniel too.
Victor blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
He laughed softly.
“Ms. Woods, you appear confused about your authority.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“You want your money without federal investigators receiving your ledger.”
His smile disappeared.
“I want my identity cleared.”
Silence.
“And Larkin wants Thomas exposed.”
Larkin raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“Daniel wants to stop running.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“So nobody kills Thomas until the financial records are secured and my name is removed from every shell company.”
Victor studied me.
“You negotiate aggressively for a secretary.”
There it was.
The word again.
I smiled.
“I’m starting to think secretary was always more dangerous than you people realized.”
Then Victor laughed.
Actually laughed.
“Fine.”
Temporary agreement.
Not alliance.
Nobody trusted anyone.
But Thomas had become common problem.
Then my phone buzzed.
Office security alert.
Someone logged into my corporate profile.
From Larkin Tower.
Forty-two floor.
My cubicle.
I showed Larkin.
His face went cold.
Thomas was in the office.
Using my credentials.
Right now.
Daniel said:
“He’s cleaning the trail.”
We moved.
By the time we reached Larkin Tower, the building was locked down.
Thomas was gone.
My desk drawers open.
Computer missing.
But he left one thing.
A printed resignation letter.
Signed:
Penelope Woods.
It stated I admitted creating unauthorized companies, moving funds, and falsifying invoices.
A full confession.
Beautifully drafted.
Then Marcus pointed to the timestamp.
The resignation had been emailed to federal investigators twenty minutes earlier.
May you like
From my company account.
Thomas had just confessed to everything in my name.
