THE BILLIONAIRE TRIED TO FIRE HER—THEN DISCOVERED HER SHOCKING SECRET
Chapter 3
Adrian spent the entire night reviewing financial records.
By 2:00 a.m., he had found forty-three suspicious transactions.
By 3:15, the number was over one hundred.
At 4:00, he called his head of internal audit.
“Lock every finance archive.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know who has access.”
Adrian didn’t sleep.
At 7:30, he arrived at Blackwell Holdings.
Emma was already there.
He stopped outside the boardroom.
“You came back.”
“I got a call from your audit team.”
“I didn’t authorize that.”
“They did.”
Adrian looked at her.
Then at the folder in her hand.
“What did you find?”
“Three shell companies.”
“Names?”
Emma gave him the documents.
The companies looked independent.
Different addresses.
Different executives.
Different banks.
But all three had one connection.
A private law firm.
Blackstone Legal.
Adrian recognized the name.
“They represent us.”
“Exactly.”
“Who hired them?”
“Your executive office.”
Adrian stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
Emma shrugged.
“That’s what the records show.”
He sat down.
“Show me.”
For two hours, they worked side by side.
No arguments.
No accusations.
Just evidence.
Emma discovered a pattern.
Every suspicious transfer occurred forty-eight hours before a major Blackwell acquisition.
The money wasn’t being stolen randomly.
It was being positioned.
“Someone is front-running our acquisitions,” she said.
Adrian frowned.
“Meaning?”
“They know what you’re buying before the market does.”
“They’re making money on the inside information.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Emma turned her laptop toward him.
“Estimated profit: $117 million.”
Adrian went still.
“That can’t be true.”
“It gets worse.”
She pointed to another column.
“Several trades are linked to a private investment fund.”
“What fund?”
Emma hesitated.
“Blackwell Family Trust.”
Adrian stared at the screen.
“That can’t be right.”
“Why?”
“My family trust has been inactive for ten years.”
“Then someone is using its identity.”
Adrian leaned back.
He had spent years believing his father had built a clean empire.
But the more they dug, the uglier it became.
“Who manages the trust?”
“No one officially.”
Adrian stood.
“My uncle.”
“Name?”
“Richard Blackwell.”
Emma looked surprised.
“Is he involved with the company?”
“Retired.”
“Does he still have access?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
Instead, he called his mother.
She answered immediately.
“Adrian?”
“Mom, do you remember Uncle Richard’s role in the family trust?”
Silence.
“What happened?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Because I found something.”
His mother sighed.
“Richard was removed from the trust after your father died.”
“Why?”
Another silence.
“Money disappeared.”
Adrian felt cold.
“How much?”
“Your father never told me.”
Emma looked at him.
He mouthed,
“Richard.”
The call ended.
Adrian looked at the files.
“Why would someone revive an inactive trust?”
Emma thought.
“To make the money look legitimate.”
Adrian nodded.
“Then we need the bank.”
Emma closed her laptop.
“I can get you the records.”
“Legally?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She stood.
“Then I have one more question.”
“What?”
“Why did you fire me so quickly?”
Adrian looked at her.
She didn’t look angry.
She looked curious.
“Because I thought you were wrong.”
“And now?”
“I think you may be the smartest person I’ve hired in ten years.”
Emma smiled.
“That sounds like an apology.”
“It is.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Try harder.”
Adrian almost smiled.
“I was wrong.”
“Better.”
She turned to leave.
“Emma.”
She stopped.
“I need you back.”
She looked over her shoulder.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t trust anyone else.”
She studied him.
“I’ll come back.”
Adrian exhaled.
“Thank you.”
“But not because you ordered it.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
Emma left.
Adrian watched the door close.
For the first time, he understood something.
He hadn’t fired Emma because she was difficult.
He had fired her because she was dangerous.
Not to the company.
To the people who had been stealing from it.
