“I Fixed My CEO’s Broken Fence — Then She Personally Thanked Me Over Dinner”
Chapter 6
“Mr. Collins?”
The voice laughed.
“You’re learning faster than I expected.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“Show yourself.”
A man emerged from the darkness.
Mr. Collins looked exactly as he did at work.
Gray hair.
Plain suit.
Calm expression.
But now he carried a pistol.
Victoria moved slightly in front of me.
Collins smiled.
“That’s unnecessary.”
“Put the gun down.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because your father didn’t.”
I felt my stomach turn.
“What did you do to him?”
Collins looked at me.
“I didn’t kill Thomas.”
“Then who did?”
“Your father discovered the operation.”
“What operation?”
“Control.”
He explained that years earlier, Victoria’s father had created a secret financial network to protect Whitmore Industries from hostile takeovers.
At first, it was legal.
Then it became something else.
Politicians were bribed.
Competitors were sabotaged.
People were blackmailed.
Eventually, a group of executives took control.
Victoria’s father tried to expose them.
Thomas Reed helped.
Both men became liabilities.
Collins lowered his weapon slightly.
“I tried to warn them.”
Victoria stared.
“You were working for my father?”
“Once.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because the people who killed him are still alive.”
Victoria’s expression changed.
“Who?”
Collins looked at her.
“Your board.”
She went pale.
“Which members?”
“Most of them.”
I thought about the people who had been sitting in Whitmore’s boardroom for years.
Collins continued.
“They’ve been draining the company.”
“How much?”
“Seven hundred million dollars.”
Victoria clenched her fists.
“And you expect me to believe you?”
“No.”
“Then why tell us?”
“Because they’re planning to remove you.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
Victoria stared.
“How?”
“They’ll accuse you of financial misconduct.”
I looked at the computer.
“Those files.”
Collins nodded.
“Evidence fabricated to make you look guilty.”
Victoria looked at me.
“Can we copy everything?”
Collins shook his head.
“Not from here.”
“Why?”
“Because the system is monitored.”
Suddenly, a red light appeared on the wall.
Collins looked up.
“They know we’re here.”
A distant alarm began.
“Move!”
We ran.
Collins led us through a narrow corridor.
Behind us, doors slammed open.
Men shouted.
We reached a service tunnel.
Collins stopped.
“There’s a vehicle outside.”
Victoria grabbed his arm.
“You’re coming.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I need to slow them down.”
“Collins—”
He pushed a small key into my hand.
“Your father left this for you.”
I stared.
“What is it?”
“A storage key.”
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
Then he turned.
“Don’t trust anyone.”
Gunshots echoed.
Victoria pulled me away.
We ran.
Outside, a black SUV waited.
We jumped in.
The driver accelerated.
Behind us, the old factory disappeared into darkness.
Victoria looked at me.
“Your father left you a key.”
I nodded.
She stared through the windshield.
“Then tomorrow, we find out what he died protecting.”
