Chapter 2 - The Files She Was Never Supposed to FindNora arrived at Whitmore Lane at 7:18 a.m.
She had slept for maybe three hours.
Bradley had called eleven times.
She hadn't answered.
The restraining order was active.
Her attorney had warned her that contact attempts were violations.
Still, every ring made her stomach knot.
She entered the elevator.
For the first time, she noticed the mirrored walls.
There was a bruise beneath her coat sleeve.
She looked away.
At 7:31, she opened her laptop.
Her manager, Simon Carter, appeared at the doorway.
“You're early.”
“Couldn't sleep.”
“Everything okay?”
Nora hesitated.
“Yes.”
He looked at her.
“Really?”
She smiled.
“Really.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
The company had been hired by Kensington Tower's ownership group to review several investment entities.
Nora had been assigned to a subsidiary called Moretti Infrastructure Holdings.
The numbers were strange.
Not wrong.
Too clean.
Every quarter ended with expenses exactly where management expected them to be.
No anomalies.
No unexplained deviations.
That was what bothered her.
Real businesses were messy.
This one wasn't.
She opened the transaction records again.
A recurring vendor appeared.
Jenkins Strategic Consulting.
Nora frowned.
Bradley's company.
Her pulse changed.
She clicked.
Invoices.
Consulting.
Risk analysis.
Employee screening.
Security strategy.
She stared.
Bradley had billed Moretti Infrastructure for work worth nearly two million dollars over eighteen months.
Nora closed the file.
Then reopened it.
The invoices were real.
The company existed.
But Bradley had never mentioned working for the Moretti organization.
She checked the dates.
Some payments had occurred while they were dating.
Others after she ended the relationship.
Nora felt sick.
At 9:14, she called Gabriel's office.
His executive assistant answered.
“Mr. Moretti is in a board meeting.”
“This is Nora Higgins from Whitmore Lane.”
“I'll let him know.”
“No.”
She paused.
“This is confidential.”
The assistant's tone changed.
“Understood.”
“Tell him I found a conflict involving Jenkins Strategic Consulting.”
Silence.
“Jenkins?”
“Yes.”
“I'll make sure he gets the message.”
Twenty-three minutes later, Gabriel called.
“Tell me.”
Nora closed her office door.
“Bradley worked for one of your companies.”
Gabriel's voice became still.
“Which one?”
“Infrastructure.”
“What exactly did he do?”
“Consulting.”
“Who hired him?”
“I don't know.”
“Can you send me the invoices?”
“Yes.”
“Don't send them through email.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know who else is watching.”
Nora swallowed.
“Okay.”
They agreed to meet privately.
At noon, Nora entered a private conference room.
Gabriel was already there.
He stood as she entered.
“Thank you for coming.”
She placed a secure drive on the table.
“These are copies.”
Gabriel didn't touch them immediately.
“How did you get these?”
“I'm on the audit.”
“You weren't supposed to access the vendor's full contract.”
“I wasn't.”
“Then?”
“I noticed the vendor while reviewing payment patterns.”
Gabriel nodded.
“This is exactly why I trust accountants.”
Nora smiled faintly.
“You don't know me well enough to trust me.”
“I know enough.”
She looked at him.
“What is Jenkins Strategic?”
“I don't know.”
“You hired them.”
“My company did.”
“That's different?”
“Very.”
He opened the drive.
They reviewed the invoices.
Most were legitimate.
Then Nora found something.
“Stop.”
Gabriel did.
She pointed.
“This project.”
“What about it?”
“It's listed as a threat assessment.”
“So?”
“It references a private employee.”
“Who?”
“You.”
Silence.
Gabriel looked at the document.
“Someone hired Bradley to monitor me?”
“Apparently.”
“Why?”
Nora opened another file.
“Because they were trying to identify who had access to your European shipping acquisition.”
Gabriel's expression changed.
“Rotterdam.”
“Yes.”
“The deal closes next month.”
Nora nodded.
“Someone is trying to sabotage it.”
They traced another series of payments.
A shell company.
Then another.
Finally, a name.
Victor Hale.
Gabriel stared.
His chief operating officer.
“No.”
Nora looked at him.
“You know him.”
“He's worked with me for eleven years.”
“Then I'd start asking questions.”
Gabriel stood.
“Nora.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know what you have?”
“Audit evidence.”
“No.”
His expression had changed.
“This is criminal.”
She sat back.
“Then why hasn't anyone noticed?”
“Because someone has been making sure nobody looks.”
That evening, Gabriel increased security around the building.
He also assigned two discreet guards to Nora.
She objected.
“I don't need babysitters.”
“They aren't babysitters.”
“They follow me.”
“They protect you.”
“I don't like it.”
“I don't care.”
She stared.
He met her eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
A pause.
“But until we know who paid Bradley, you're not alone.”
Nora sighed.
“Fine.”
At 11:06 p.m., her phone rang.
Blocked number.
She answered accidentally.
A whisper.
“Did he tell you?”
Nora froze.
“Who is this?”
“You should stop looking into the accounts.”
Her throat tightened.
“Who are you?”
“You'll find out.”
The call ended.
A message followed.
A photograph.
Nora standing outside Whitmore Lane.
Taken that afternoon.
She stared.
Gabriel called immediately.
“I received something too.”
“What?”
“A picture of you.”
Her blood went cold.
“You're being watched.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
She stood.
“We.”
She corrected herself.
“We're being watched.”
Gabriel paused.
“Stay where you are.”
“I'm already home.”
“Lock the doors.”
“I did.”
“And Nora?”
“Yes?”
“Do not open them for anyone.”
Ten minutes later, a black vehicle stopped outside her building.
Gabriel stepped out.
He looked up toward her window.
She watched from behind the curtain.
For the first time, she realized something.
The silent billionaire who owned half the neighborhood wasn't protecting her because she was weak.
May you like
He was protecting her because somebody considered her dangerous.
And that frightened her more than Bradley ever had.
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