Chapter 136
Marcus’s POV
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“No,” Marcus said firmly, looking Robert Morrison directly in the eye. “I am not hiding losses from this board. I have never hidden losses. I have never committed fraud. And I did not create these reports.”
“Then who did?” Robert asked.
“I don’t know yet. But I intend to find out.” Marcus pulled his laptop from his briefcase and opened it on the conference table. “Give me five minutes. Let me pull up the original files from my personal backup.”
“We don’t have time for this-” Lisa started, but Robert held up his hand.
“Five minutes. Let’s see what he has.”
Marcus’s fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up his personal cloud storage where he kept backup copies of everything. He found the investor presentation folder and opened the files.
The numbers were different. Completely different from what was showing on the screen behind him.
“Here,” Marcus turned his laptop so everyone at the table could see. “These are the original reports I prepared. Revenue of $847 million, not $892 million. Profit margins consistent at 23% across all analyses. No references to offshore accounts or markets we don’t operate in.”
“Those could be fabricated-” Thomas started.
“Check the timestamps,” Dante interjected, moving closer to the table. “Look at when those files were created versus when the altered versions were uploaded to the presentation system.”
Marcus pulled up the file properties. “My originals were created and finalized six days ago. The versions in the presentation system were modified last night at 11:47 PM.”
“When you claim you didn’t send them,” Lisa said skeptically.
“Because I didn’t. I was home last night. Ask my wife, ask security, check my building’s access logs. I didn’t come to the office.”
“You could have logged in remotely.”
“Then check the IP address! See where the login came from!”
Robert Morrison looked at Thomas Bradford. “Can we verify this? Pull the IT logs?”
“We can, but it’ll take time.”
“Then we take the time.” Robert turned back to Marcus. “If what you’re saying is true, if someone has deliberately sabotaged this presentation, that’s a serious crime. Corporate espionage. Fraud. We need to involve authorities.”
16:56 Mon, May 11
Chapter 136
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“I agree.” Marcus said. “I want a full investigation. I want to know exactly who accessed my account, when, and from where. I want every modification to these files tracked and documented.”
“And in the meantime?” Lisa asked. “What do we do about this meeting? About the quarterly report?”
“We postpone,” Robert said. “Until we can verify which numbers are accurate and which are fabricated. I move to suspend this meeting pending investigation.”
“Seconded,” Thomas said.
The room erupted again, but this time the energy was different. Less accusatory toward Marcus, more focused on figuring out what had actually happened.
Penelope stood up from her corner seat. “I think we’re all overreacting,” she said, her voice calm and reasonable. “Marcus has been under a lot of stress lately. Personal problems, marital issues. Perhaps he simply made a mistake-”
“This isn’t a mistake,” Dante cut her off. “You don’t accidentally alter dozens of financial documents and insert references to offshore accounts. This is deliberate sabotage.”
Penelope smiled slightly. “Of course. I’m just saying we shouldn’t jump to conclusions about outside interference when the simpler explanation might be human error combined with stress.”
Marcus stared at her. She was doing it. Right here in front of everyone, she was planting seeds of doubt about his competence while pretending to defend him.
“There was no human error,” Marcus said coldly. “And my personal life has no bearing on my ability to do my job.”
“Doesn’t it?” Penelope tilted her head. “You’ve seemed quite distracted lately. Anyone would understand given
the circumstances-”
“What circumstances?” Robert asked.
“Nothing,” Marcus said quickly. “There are no circumstances affecting my work.”
But the damage was done. He could see the investors looking at each other, whispering. Wondering what Penelope was referring to. What personal problems Marcus was having that might make him unreliable.
The meeting dissolved into chaos after that. Investors demanding answers, board members calling for investigations, Penelope sitting quietly in her corner looking satisfied.
Finally, Robert Morrison adjourned the meeting until further notice. The room slowly emptied, people filing out in clusters, still talking and speculating.
Dante grabbed Marcus’s arm and pulled him into a small side office.
“We need to figure out who did this,” Dante said the moment the door closed. “And we need to do it fast before they have time to cover their tracks.”
“It was Penelope. It had to be.”
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Probably But we need proof We need to trace those file modifications, find out who actually hate them”
The login was from my account. Using my credentials”
Then someone either hacked your password or has physical access to your computer Iante was already pulling out his phone. I’m calling our IT security tearn. We need a full forensic analysis of your system
Marcus slumped into a chair, the adrenaline from the meeting finally wearing off and leaving him exhausted “She’s going to destroy me. Even if we prove it was sabotage, the damage is done. The investors saw thour numbers. They heard me stumble through that presentation. They’re going to question everything I do from
now on.”
“We’ll fix this….”
“How? How do we fix this, Dante? Penelope has been planning this for God knows how long. She has people inside the company working for her. She probably has backup plans and contingencies we haven’t even thought of yet.”
Dante sat down across from him. Then we outthink her. We find her weak points and we exploit them just like she’s exploiting yours.”
Marcus’s phone rang. Unknown number. He almost didn’t answer, but something made him pick up.
“Marcus Thorne.”
“Mr. Thorne, this is Dr. Sarah from Manhattan Presbyterian Hospital.”
Marcus’s blood went cold. Hospital. Doctor. Something was wrong.
“Yes?”
“Your wife is here. Elara Thorne. She came in for an appointment this morning and we’ve discovered some complications with her pregnancy.”
Everything else disappeared. The sabotaged meeting, Penelope’s scheming, the chaos of the last hour None of it mattered.
“What kind of complications? Is she okay?”
“She’s stable, but we need you to come in as soon as possible. We need to discuss the situation with both of you.”
“I’m on my way.” Marcus was already standing, already moving toward the door. “Is she in danger? Are the babies…”
“Mr. Thorne, I really think it’s best if we discuss this in person. How soon can you be here
“Fifteen minutes. Maybe less.”
“We’ll be waiting. Ask for Dr. Sarah when you arrive.”
16:56 Mon, May 11
Chapter 136
The line went dead.
Marcus stood there staring at his phone, his heart pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears.
“What is it?” Dante asked. “What’s wrong?”
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Marcus looked at his best friend, and for the first time in hours, he felt actual fear. Not about the company or his reputation or Penelope’s schemes.
Fear for Elara. For their babies.
“It’s Elara,” Marcus said, his voice barely above a whisper. “She’s at the hospital. There’s a problem with the pregnancy.”
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