The Contract That Was Never Meant to Reach the CEO
Chapter 6
Ethan was released at 3:00 a.m.
That was the part that frightened him most.
Julian could have detained him.
Could have threatened him.
Instead, he wanted Ethan free.
Because Julian believed the evidence was already enough.
By sunrise, Ethan understood the plan.
The board would see forged documents.
Customer complaints.
Financial losses.
A signature that appeared genuine.
They would remove him.
Then Julian would take control as interim CEO.
Within weeks, the company would be placed into restructuring.
The properties would be sold.
Julian’s shell companies would purchase them.
It was almost impossible to stop.
Almost.
Ethan returned to his apartment.
He opened an encrypted file containing every original corporate signature authorization.
The forged signature had been created using a digital image.
But there was a flaw.
The signature on the contract was too clean.
His real signature always had a slight upward curve at the final stroke.
The forged version didn’t.
That could prove the contract was fake.
But proving fraud wasn’t enough.
Ethan needed to expose the entire network.
Maya arrived at eight.
“You look terrible.”
“I haven’t slept.”
“Neither have I.”
She placed a folder on the table.
“My father had another notebook.”
Ethan stared.
“Where?”
“With his lawyer.”
“What’s inside?”
“Names.”
She opened it.
The list was longer than the first.
There were real estate brokers.
Bank officers.
Attorneys.
Former employees.
But one name stood out.
Victor Cole.
Ethan’s uncle.
He had died eight years earlier.
“What does this mean?”
Maya shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Ethan read the notes.
Victor had apparently owned a small consulting company that received payments from Julian’s shell corporations.
But why?
Ethan called an old family attorney.
The man answered immediately.
“Ethan?”
“I need you to search something.”
“Anything.”
“Victor Cole.”
A long pause.
“What about him?”
“Did he ever have financial dealings with Julian Price?”
Another pause.
“Where did you get this?”
“Just answer.”
The attorney sighed.
“Yes.”
Ethan felt a chill.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Why?”
“I was never told.”
Ethan ended the call.
Maya watched him.
“What are you thinking?”
“That Julian didn’t build this alone.”
“Then who did?”
Ethan looked at the notebook.
“The person who taught him how.”
He searched old company records.
His father’s original dealership had been established forty-one years earlier.
The first financial controller?
Victor Cole.
Julian had joined three years later.
Together, they had managed the company’s expansion.
Ethan sat back.
“My father may have known.”
Maya looked at him.
“Did he?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Ethan remembered something.
His father had once told him:
Never trust the numbers you didn’t calculate yourself.
At the time, Ethan thought it was business advice.
Now it sounded like a warning.
His phone rang.
It was the board secretary.
“Mr. Cole, the meeting is still scheduled for nine.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Are you bringing legal counsel?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Ethan looked at Maya.
“Because I want them to hear the truth from me.”
He hung up.
Maya asked, “Do you have a plan?”
Ethan shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Then he smiled.
“But I know where to start.”
