Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Dark Glass
Tessa woke at six-forty-three the next morning with her cheek stuck to the sleeve of yesterday's coat.
For several confused seconds, she couldn't remember why she had slept on top of the covers.
Then she remembered the car.
She sat upright.
No.
That had not happened.
She had dreamed it.
She had to have.
She walked into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.
Her hair looked like someone had argued with it.
Mascara had smudged beneath one eye.
Her face was pale enough to make her look ill.
She washed her hands, brushed her teeth, and caught sight of the tiny scar above her left eyebrow.
Her father used to tap it with one finger and tell her, "That's what happens when you climb trees you aren't supposed to climb."
She had been twelve.
She had loved him.
Then he had died.
Then her mother's health had declined.
Then the bills had started.
Then Tessa had become responsible.
Somewhere in all of that, she had forgotten what it felt like to be twenty-seven.
She dressed in the fastest thing she could find, left the apartment, and reached Hellbrook Trust at seven fifty-eight.
Her supervisor was waiting.
"Tessa."
"Morning."
"You were supposed to finish the Vaughn account yesterday."
"It's not finished."
Her supervisor, Calvin Reed, frowned.
"Why?"
"Because the numbers are wrong."
"They can't be wrong."
"They are."
Calvin lowered his voice.
"Stop digging into that account."
Tessa stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because I told you."
"That's not an answer."
His jaw tightened.
"You're very talented, Tessa. Don't make yourself difficult."
She had heard that sentence her entire professional life.
Talented.
Difficult.
Reliable.
Emotional.
Useful.
Never dangerous.
She nodded.
"Okay."
Calvin walked away.
She waited until he was gone.
Then reopened the file.
Something was wrong.
Not just wrong.
Deliberately wrong.
Money was being transferred from a charitable trust to three shell companies.
The shell companies then purchased commercial properties.
Those properties eventually sold to a private investment group.
Cross Meridian Holdings.
Tessa had heard the name.
Everyone had.
The company belonged to Adrian Cross.
The man from the car.
She frowned.
"No."
She opened another file.
Same structure.
A second.
Same.
A third.
Her pulse began to move faster.
At ten fifteen, she received an email from an unknown address.
Stop looking.
She deleted it.
At ten sixteen, another email arrived.
You should have read the plate.
She froze.
Her fingers went cold.
Someone knew.
Someone knew about the car.
She looked around the office.
Rows of desks.
Phones ringing.
Printers humming.
Nothing unusual.
Then she saw a man standing in the lobby.
Dark coat.
Black umbrella.
Looking directly at her.
The glass doors closed.
He disappeared.
Tessa grabbed her phone.
She opened her banking application.
The account balance showed $214.
She stared at it.
There was a new transfer.
$2,140.
The exact amount that had been missing from one of the files.
She hadn't transferred it.
She called the bank.
The transaction had been initiated from a device that appeared to be hers.
Someone had copied her credentials.
She closed the account immediately.
At noon, Calvin called her into his office.
"You need to take a few days off."
She stared at him.
"Why?"
"Corporate restructuring."
"That isn't what HR said."
His eyes sharpened.
"You're becoming a liability."
"For whom?"
He stood.
"Go home, Tessa."
She took a step closer.
"What's in the Vaughn account?"
Calvin said nothing.
"What happened to the people who were auditing it before me?"
His expression changed.
Just enough.
One had resigned.
One had disappeared.
One had died in a car accident.
Tessa walked out.
By five, someone followed her home.
She noticed him only because she saw the same dark sedan reflected in a storefront window twice.
She changed direction.
He followed.
She crossed the street.
He crossed.
She entered a pharmacy.
Waited.
Left through the side door.
Still there.
She reached for her phone.
Before she could dial, a black SUV rolled to the curb.
The back door opened.
Adrian Cross sat inside.
"Get in."
Tessa stared at him.
"No."
"You are being followed."
"I know."
"I can get you somewhere safe."
"You were in the car last night."
"Yes."
"You're Adrian Cross."
"Yes."
She took one step backward.
"You followed me."
"No."
"Then how are you here?"
"I was already looking for the man following you."
The stalker approached.
Adrian looked toward the front seat.
"Drive."
The SUV moved.
The stalker vanished behind them.
Tessa sat rigidly.
"Where are we going?"
"My office."
"I don't work for you."
"Not yet."
"I will never work for you."
"That's fine."
She glanced at him.
"Then why are you helping me?"
His answer came without hesitation.
"Because I know what you're investigating."
Her breathing stopped.
"How?"
"Because my money is being stolen through the same accounts."
She looked at him.
"You're saying you're being robbed."
"Yes."
"By whom?"
"Someone inside my organization."
Tessa stared.
She had expected arrogance.
Instead, she saw something colder.
Concern.
Not for money.
For control.
"Why me?"
"Because whoever is doing it used your credentials."
She went still.
"And now they want you dead."
The SUV stopped.
May you like
Adrian opened the door.
"Welcome to the part of your life where being good at numbers becomes dangerous."
