Jane's POV

I sat at my desk and frowned at the numbers in front of me. Something was wrong. Our new products were everywhere.


The media was full of praise and customers were buying more than ever before. But the profit didn't match. I went over the report again, it was still low, too low.

I called my assistant.

"Get the finance team in here. Now."


Thirty minutes later, my top finance officers sat around the glass table. I stood, and crossed my arms as I stared at them

"Can someone explain why our profits are this low? We are selling more than ever."


Everyone looked uncomfortable and no one spoke.Then, Daniel, the finance director, cleared his throat.

"There could be delays in payments... maybe supplier costs increased..."

"Don't lie to me," I snapped. "I want full disclosure. I want an explanation on every cent and every record."

Daniel avoided my eyes and his hands trembled slightly.

"I want a full audit," I said. "Rita will lead it."

Rita's POV

When Jane called me into her office, I knew something big was going on. She didn't trust just anyone with audits. I got to work immediately and I combed through every payment, every receipt.

Two days in, I found something strange. Multiple payments have been made to a logistics company I didn't recognize. Large payments. I checked our records. That company didn't have a physical address and there was no contact person and no official registration.

Fake.

I kept digging and I cross-checked delivery logs, shipments marked as delivered never arrived and Inventory was missing.

Jane's POV

Rita dropped the report on my desk.

"Fake supplier," she said. "Thousands of units, gone, paid for and never delivered."

I stared at the name of the logistics company. My hands tightened around the file.

"Who approved these payments?"

"Procurement," she said. "Mostly signed off by Samuel."

Samuel, high-level, clean record. Just bought a penthouse.

"Get him in here. Now."

Jane's POV - Later That Day

Samuel walked in, he was so confident. But his eyes moved nervously when he saw the file in my hand.

"Sit," I told him and he sat.

"Why are you sending money to a ghost company?"

He blinked. "I—I don't know what you mean."

I tossed the papers on the table.

"You signed them."

He started to sweat. "It was routine. I trusted the supplier. I didn't know..."

I narrowed my eyes. "Then why did you buy a penthouse last week?"

He stammered. "I... I had savings."

Rita entered the room. "Jane. Tom found something."

Tom POV

"We noticed data being wiped from the procurement server," I told Jane. "Someone was deleting fast. We tried to stop it. But the person ran."

"Ran?"

"We caught the escape on security cameras. It was blurry and there was a clear face."

Jane's eyes narrowed "Recover the files. And trace the footprints, I mean every byte."

Rita's POV

It took hours, but we got lucky. I found a backup that wasn't touched. Inside it, I saw email chains, messages between our mole and someone outside.

"They were selling our inventory," I whispered "To another company. At higher prices."

"Which company? "Hades Global."

Jane's POV

My stomach turned. Hades? Again?

I slammed my fist on the table.

"He used my own people against me."

The room went quiet. Then Rita played something.

Audio Recording - Recovered by Tom

Man 1: "Ten percent. Leak only ten percent. That way it won't be obvious."

Man 2: "She will never know, clean and quiet and we will do this right, we will keep it running for years."

Man 1: "And if she finds out?"

Man 2: "She won't. She is smart, but not smart enough."

Jane's POV

I played the audio in front of the board. Rage built in the room and voices rose

"Sue them!"

"Fire everyone involved!"

"We can't trust anyone!"

I raised my hand.

"We will take legal action. Against Hades Global, against every mole and Tom and his team will finish tracing. No one will escape."

As the meeting ended I sat down, I was exhausted and then, my email dung. One new message. No subject.

I opened it.

You're looking in the wrong place. This trail was meant to be found. The real leak is still inside.

My body went cold and I looked around the empty boardroom, and my fingers trembled

"If this is a distraction," I whisper to myself, "then what are they really after?"

Jane's POV

I sat in my office and stared at the security footage after I requested Tom and Co to do more investigation. The image was clear now and the person deleting the files from our procurement server was Mark Collins, one of our senior managers.

I felt sick.

He was in charge of overseeing deliveries and payments. I trusted him and I gave him a promotion last year and now, he was the one stealing from me.

I pressed the button on my desk phone.

'Bring Mark Collins to the main boardroom, now."

Ten minutes later, Mark walked in. His eyes were wide and his hands shook, he knew and I didn't even raise my voice. I looked him straight in the eye and asked,

'Why?" He said nothing.

'Mark," I continued, 'We have video of you in the server room. We also recovered emails between you and Elfread Corporation. Do you want to explain before I call the police?" He dropped into the chair.

'I... I had no choice," he said, whispering.

'Why? Did they threaten you?"

He shook his head. 'They offered me more money than I ever thought possible.

They said it was easy, just move a few boxes, mark fake deliveries and sign off shipments. That's all."

'You betrayed me for money?" I asked and still tried to stay calm.

'They said it was temporary. That I would be fine. And they promised it wouldn't trace back to you."

I stood. 'You are under arrest."

Two security guards entered and handcuffed him and he didn't even fight back. He just kept whispering, 'I'm sorry."

Later that day, Elfread Corporation's warehouse was raided by police. I was watching live on my screen as officers marched inside, they seized documents, and handcuff several top executives.

I see the CEO, Victor Elfread, led into a black van and the footage cuts to the police station and then, something I didn't expect happened.

Victor Elfread was talking to officers, at first, he said nothing and then, he opened his mouth and said one sentence that sent a chill through my bones.

'I was working with someone else. Someone close to Jane. His name is Grande, Her father."

I feel my legs go weak.

My father?.