Billionaire CEO Tested a Delivery Girl—What He Found Changed Everything
Chapter 5
Alexander spent the next two days searching the company’s oldest records.
The Harrington Foundation Reserve existed.
But it was buried beneath layers of legal entities.
The money had been created by his grandfather as an emergency fund to protect employees, contractors, and communities affected by company failures.
It wasn’t supposed to be touched.
But someone had recently begun moving money from it.
The missing twenty-three million suddenly made sense.
The theft was much bigger than Alexander had realized.
Emily became involved in the investigation.
She wasn’t an employee.
She wasn’t paid.
She simply refused to walk away.
“You shouldn’t be doing this,” Alexander told her.
“Why?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”
She smiled.
“So is driving downtown during rush hour.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Alexander looked at her.
“You’re not afraid?”
“Of you?”
“Of all of it.”
Emily shook her head.
“My grandmother spent her life trying to expose this.”
She placed the old cassette on the table.
“If she couldn’t finish it, maybe I can.”
Alexander admired her determination.
But he was also worried.
Someone inside the company had already covered their tracks.
If they realized Emily was helping him, she could become a target.
So he decided to keep the investigation secret.
They worked after hours.
Emily studied the financial documents.
Alexander reviewed executive access logs.
They found patterns.
Payments moved through a consulting company.
That company belonged to a board member.
Richard Harrington.
Alexander’s cousin.
The same man who had criticized Alexander’s leadership for years.
Alexander stared at the documents.
“It’s him.”
Emily shook her head.
“Don’t jump too quickly.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s too obvious.”
Alexander looked at her.
“You’re starting to sound like me.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
He smiled.
They continued digging.
Then Emily found something.
“Look.”
She pointed to a transaction.
A payment had been made to a company called Northstar Engineering.
Emily recognized the name.
“Why?”
“What?”
“Northstar.”
She looked closer.
“I interviewed there after college.”
Alexander frowned.
“Was it connected to Harrington Global?”
“No.”
“Then why is it receiving money from Richard?”
Emily opened another file.
Her face changed.
“Because it wasn’t an engineering firm.”
“What was it?”
“A shell company.”
Alexander leaned forward.
Emily explained that Northstar had been registered using a retired engineer’s identity.
The engineer had died three years earlier.
Someone had stolen his credentials.
Alexander’s eyes narrowed.
“Can you trace the registration?”
Emily nodded.
“Probably.”
She spent an hour digging through public records.
Then she found an address.
A small office building in suburban Chicago.
Alexander wanted to go immediately.
Emily stopped him.
“Don’t.”
“Why?”
“If someone is watching the company, they’ll know.”
“So what do we do?”
“We send someone else.”
Alexander smiled.
“You.”
Emily rolled her eyes.
“No.”
“You volunteered.”
“I did not.”
He laughed.
For the first time in months, Alexander felt like he could breathe.
Then Emily’s phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed.
“Hello?”
Silence.
“Who is this?”
The caller hung up.
Alexander watched her.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Emily.”
She looked at him.
“Someone just said my grandmother’s name.”
Alexander’s smile disappeared.
“What exactly?”
Emily swallowed.
“They said, ‘She should have stayed quiet.'”
Silence filled the room.
Alexander stood.
“You’re staying with me tonight.”
Emily frowned.
“I’m not moving into your penthouse.”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“Good.”
“I’ll have security take you home.”
She nodded.
But before leaving, she looked at him.
“Alexander?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you helping me?”
He didn’t hesitate.
“Because you helped me first.”
She smiled.
And for the first time, something existed between them that had nothing to do with the investigation.
Something neither was ready to name.
