Chapter 142
Marcus’s POV
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Marcus stood in his office staring at the computer screen, his jaw clenched so tight his teeth ached. The IT forensics report was spread across three monitors, lines of code and access logs that told a story he’d already suspected but seeing it confirmed made his blood boil.
Dante sat across from him, scrolling through his own copy of the report on his tablet.
“Gerald,” Dante said, his voice flat with disgust. “Fifteen years with the company. You passed him over for CFO three years ago and apparently he’s been holding a grudge ever since.”
“The keylogger was installed eight months ago,” Marcus said, pointing at one of the timestamps. “He’s been planning this for a while.”
“Or someone’s been planning it for him.” Dante looked up from the tablet. “Gerald doesn’t have the strategic mind for something this elaborate. The timing, the specific documents altered, the way it was designed to cause maximum damage at the investor meeting… that’s not a disgruntled accountant acting alone.”
“Penelope.”
“Has to be. Gerald’s bank records show a deposit of twenty thousand dollars two weeks before the investor meeting. Came from an offshore account we’re still tracing, but I’d bet everything I own it leads back to her.”
Marcus walked to the window and looked out at the Manhattan skyline. The city looked peaceful from up here, orderly and clean. Nothing like the chaos his life had become.
“Can we prove it?” he asked. “Can we prove Penelope paid Gerald to sabotage the presentation?”
“We’re working on it. The offshore account is registered in the Cayman Islands, hidden behind three shell corporations. It’ll take time to pierce the corporate veil and trace it definitively back to Penelope.”
“Time we don’t have. The board wants answers now. They’ve already scheduled an emergency meeting for tomorrow to discuss whether I should be temporarily removed as CEO pending investigation.”
Dante stood up and joined Marcus at the window. “Then we give them Gerald. We show them the evidence that he altered the files using your credentials. We prove you were framed.”
“And Gerald will immediately point the finger at Penelope if he thinks it’ll save his own skin.”
“Exactly. So we squeeze him. Offer him immunity in exchange for testimony about who paid him and why
Marcus turned to face his best friend. “You’re talking about making a deal with the man who tried to destroy my reputation.”
“I’m talking about catching the person who orchestrated the whole thing. Gerald is a pawn. Penelope is the queen.”
Marcus knew Dante was right. Gerald was expendable, a tool Penelope had used and would discard the moment he became inconvenient. Getting him to flip on her was the fastest route to proving what had really
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happened.
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“Set up a meeting,” Marcus said. “With Gerald and his lawyer. Make it clear we have him dead to rights on the sabotage, but we’re willing to talk about reduced charges if he cooperates fully.”
“Already scheduled for this afternoon.”
“Of course you did.” Marcus managed a weak smile. “What would I do without you?”
“Probably make terrible decisions and marry your assistant.”
The joke fell flat given everything happening with Elara, but Marcus appreciated the attempt at levity.
His phone buzzed. A text from the building security.
Security: Ms. Penelope Thorne is requesting access to your office. Should we send her up?
Marcus looked at Dante. “Speak of the devil.”
“You want me to stay?”
“No. I want to talk to her alone.” Marcus typed back a response. Send her up.
Dante gathered his tablet and the printed forensics reports. “Be careful. She’s going to play innocent and you’re going to want to strangle her.”
“I know.”
After Dante left, Marcus straightened his tie and sat behind his desk, composing himself. He needed to stay calm, controlled. Penelope would be looking for any sign of weakness, any crack in his composure she could exploit.
The door opened and Penelope walked in wearing a cream pantsuit that probably cost more than most people’s monthly rent. Her hair was perfectly styled, her makeup flawless, her smile warm and stepmother- like.
“Marcus, darling. I heard about the disaster at the investor meeting. I came as soon as I could to see if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“You can drop the act. I know what you did.”
Penelope’s smile didn’t waver. She sat down in the chair across from his desk and crossed her legs. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The investor meeting. The altered financial reports. Gerald from accounting who’s been on your payroll for
the last two weeks.”
“Gerald? I don’t even know who that is.”
“Really? Because he knows you. And more importantly, he can trace the twenty thousand dollars you paid him to sabotage my presentation directly back to your offshore accounts.”
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Chapter 142
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95 you here
Something flickered in Penelope’s expression. Not quite worry, but acknowledgment that Marcus was further along in his investigation than she’d anticipated.
“That’s a very serious accusation,” she said carefully. “I hope you have substantial proof before you go making claims like that publicly.”
“I have forensic evidence that Gerald used my credentials to alter the documents. I have bank records showing he received a large payment right before the meeting. And I will have testimony from himself confirming you paid him to commit corporate sabotage.”
“Will you? Because from what I understand, testimony obtained under duress or in exchange for immunity deals is notoriously unreliable. Any decent lawyer could tear it apart.”
Marcus leaned forward. “Why? Why go to all this trouble? What did you think you’d accomplish?”
“I haven’t accomplished anything because I haven’t done anything. But hypothetically, if someone wanted to damage your reputation and make the board question your competence, I’d say the investor meeting was a masterful execution.”
“This is about the contract. About me stealing it back from your penthouse.”
Penelope laughed, the sound genuine and delighted. “Oh Marcus. The contract is the least of your problems. right now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you should be more careful about what secrets you keep. Especially secrets that can be discovered through simple math.”
Marcus felt ice forming in his stomach. “What are you talking about?”
Penelope stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the same view Marcus had been staring at moments before. “How is Elara, by the way? I heard she had a medical emergency. Something about the pregnancy?”
“Stay away from my wife.”
“I’m just expressing concern for family. It must be so stressful for her, being pregnant with twins at such a delicate stage. Twenty plus weeks along, isn’t she?”
Marcus’s hands clenched into fists under the desk. “Get to the point.”
“The point is that twenty weeks is five months. And you and Elara got married in early January. Which means…” Penelope turned to face him, her smile sharp and victorious. “She was already pregnant when you walked down the aisle.”
The office suddenly felt too small, the air too thin. Marcus couldn’t breathe.
“That’s quite the timeline discrepancy,” Penelope continued. “Makes one wonder if the marriage was about love and genuine partnership like your grandfather’s will required… or if it was about convenience. About a man who needed to be married before his thirtieth birthday and an assistant who turned up pregnant at just
16:58 Mon, May 11 M…
Chapter 142
the right time.”
“You have no proof of when Elara got pregnant.”
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“Don’t I? Medical records are surprisingly easy to obtain if you know the right people to ask. And once the board sees those records, once they do the math themselves…” Penelope walked toward the door, pausing with her hand on the handle. “Well, I imagine they’ll have some very serious questions about whether your marriage satisfies the terms of the will.”
Marcus stood up. “You’re threatening me.”
“I’m informing you. There’s a difference.” Penelope opened the door. “You think the investor meeting was bad? You think having your competence questioned was difficult?”
She smiled, cold and calculating.
“Wait until the press finds out about the shotgun wedding.”
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