Chapter 4 - The Woman They Planned to Sacrifice
The investigation consumed the next two weeks.
The company became a battlefield.
Executives resigned.
Auditors arrived.
Federal investigators began asking questions.
And every piece of evidence pointed toward one conclusion.
Someone had spent years building a criminal operation inside the company.
But they had also built a scapegoat.
Me.
My name appeared on dozens of documents.
My electronic signature appeared on contracts I had never seen.
My employee ID had been used to approve payments.
Someone had carefully created a digital version of me.
The worst part?
The evidence was convincing.
One morning, federal agents arrived at my apartment.
“Ms. Harper?”
“Yes?”
“We need you to come with us.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“You're being questioned regarding financial fraud.”
I almost laughed.
Then I saw the warrant.
It was real.
They searched my apartment.
My laptop.
My files.
My phone.
I called Damian.
He answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
“Federal agents are here.”
Silence.
Then:
“Don't speak without an attorney.”
“I haven't done anything.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because the evidence is too perfect.”
“What does that mean?”
“Someone wants you arrested.”
Two hours later, Damian arrived with his attorney.
The agents allowed him into the room.
He looked at me.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“I'm scared.”
“I know.”
He sat beside me.
The lead investigator placed a file on the table.
“Your signature appears on this authorization.”
I looked at it.
“That isn't my signature.”
The investigator frowned.
“It was verified electronically.”
Damian spoke.
“By whom?”
“Your company's system.”
“Which was compromised.”
The investigator looked at him.
“You're saying the entire system is compromised?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have proof?”
Damian looked at me.
I understood.
He wanted me to speak.
I opened the file.
“The person who created these signatures made one mistake.”
Everyone looked at me.
“What mistake?”
“The project codes.”
I pointed.
“I never use the same code twice.”
The investigator frowned.
“These codes were created by someone using an administrative template.”
I smiled faintly.
“Exactly.”
Damian's eyes sharpened.
“Who had access to the template?”
I knew.
“Caroline.”
The investigator immediately made a call.
Caroline was brought in that afternoon.
She broke after forty minutes.
She admitted creating some of the fake documents.
But she insisted she wasn't the mastermind.
“Who was?”
She started crying.
“I don't know his real name.”
“What do you know?”
“He called himself Black.”
Damian's expression changed.
“Black?”
Caroline nodded.
“He paid me.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
“And what did he want?”
She looked at me.
“You.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“He said Damian would protect you.”
I stared at her.
“That doesn't make sense.”
Caroline shook her head.
“He said Damian would eventually trust you.”
Then she whispered:
“And once Damian trusted you, you were supposed to betray him.”
The room went silent.
I looked at Damian.
He looked back.
For the first time since I met him, I saw something close to fear in his eyes.
May you like
Not fear for himself.
Fear for me.
