Chapter 13 - THE MAN INSIDE THE COMPANY
The next morning, I returned to the company.
I didn't tell anyone about Edward.
I didn't tell the board about Martin.
And I didn't tell my employees that someone inside the organization might be preparing to destroy everything my mother had built.
I simply walked into the executive floor.
Everyone stood.
“Good morning.”
They greeted me politely.
Too politely.
I watched their faces.
Fear.
Curiosity.
Guilt.
I had spent years thinking I was terrible at reading people.
Now I realized I had simply trusted too easily.
My assistant, Natalie, approached me.
“Your nine o'clock meeting is waiting.”
“Cancel it.”
She hesitated.
“With Martin?”
My eyes narrowed.
“What did you say?”
She froze.
“I thought—”
“You said Martin.”
“Yes.”
“I didn't tell you Martin was involved.”
Her face went pale.
That was enough.
“Close the door.”
She obeyed.
“Tell me everything.”
“I don't know anything.”
“Then why did you react when I said his name?”
She began crying.
“He contacted me.”
“When?”
“Two months ago.”
“What did he want?”
“To know whether you were investigating the old accounts.”
My stomach tightened.
“Did you tell him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother once helped my family.”
I stared at her.
“How?”
“She paid my father's medical bills.”
I sat down.
Another connection.
Another hidden favor.
Another piece of my mother's network.
Natalie handed me her phone.
There were messages from Martin.
The most recent one said:
YOU HAVE UNTIL FRIDAY.
I looked at the date.
Thursday.
One day.
“What happens Friday?”
“I don't know.”
I called my father.
He answered immediately.
“What's wrong?”
“Martin contacted my assistant.”
Silence.
“Dad?”
“Get out of the building.”
“Why?”
“Now.”
I stood.
Too late.
The lights went out.
Emergency alarms began screaming.
People rushed into the hallway.
Then every screen in the executive floor switched on.
A video appeared.
Bradley.
Alive.
Sitting in a dark room.
My heart stopped.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Hello.”
Everyone around me froze.
Bradley smiled.
“I know you're watching.”
I stepped closer.
“You're supposed to be in federal custody.”
“I'm not.”
A second man entered the frame.
Martin.
Bradley continued.
“You thought the trial was the end.”
Martin leaned toward the camera.
“It was only the beginning.”
The screen went black.
Then every employee's computer displayed the same message.
TRANSFER CONTROL.
A countdown appeared.
29:59.
My father called.
“Listen to me.”
“What?”
“They're trying to trigger the emergency succession clause.”
“The trust?”
“Yes.”
“If they trigger it, what happens?”
“They gain temporary voting authority.”
I looked around the office.
“Who has access?”
My assistant answered.
“Only three people.”
“Who?”
“Me. You. And Martin.”
I stared at the screen.
Martin wasn't just inside the company.
He had been preparing to take control from the beginning.
Then I remembered Edward's warning.
Seventy-two hours.
We had already lost twenty-four.
I opened my mother's original trust documents.
There was a section I had never noticed.
A handwritten note appeared in the margin.
WHEN THE CLOCK STARTS, TRUST THE PERSON WHO HAS NOTHING TO GAIN.
I looked at Natalie.
She was shaking.
“What does your family gain if I lose control?”
“Nothing.”
I believed her.
“Then you're with me.”
She nodded.
We worked for twenty minutes.
Then we found it.
Martin's access wasn't coming through the executive system.
It was coming through an old server.
One my mother had installed twenty years earlier.
I accessed the archive.
A hidden folder appeared.
MOTHER'S EYES ONLY.
Inside was one video.
I clicked it.
My mother appeared on the screen.
Older.
Tired.
And terrified.
“If you're watching this,” she said, “Martin has finally made his move.”
I stopped breathing.
My mother's voice continued.
“Do not trust Edward.”
The video ended.
Natalie stared at me.
“What does that mean?”
I didn't answer.
Because suddenly the entire story had changed.
Edward had brought me to the truth.
But my mother had warned me not to trust him.
And if she was right, then Edward hadn't rescued Claire.
He had brought her exactly where he wanted her.
My phone rang.
Edward.
I answered.
His voice was calm.
“You watched the video.”
“Yes.”
“You should listen to your mother.”
“Why?”
“Because she was right.”
The line went dead.
I stared at my father.
He whispered:
“We have been looking at the wrong enemy.”
Then the elevator doors opened.
May you like
Edward stepped out.
And behind him stood Martin.
