45 Chapter 45 – Evidence and Regret
Chapter 45- Evidence and Regret
Liam’s POV
Yesterday dragged by like torture. My skull pounded from the whiskey I’d drowned myself in the night before, and every breath felt like swallowing glass. Evelyn, Allen, Damian, and Owen surrounded me like a protective wall, insisting Hazel couldn’t have sent those damning emails. Their voices hammered at me, demanding I listen, waiting for the audit to reveal what they already believed.
Evelyn had ventured into the finance department’s lion’s den to retrieve the documents. Clairemont claimed were being verified. While she was gone, that bastard Clairemont called, his voice dripping with manufactured outrage as he spewed excuses into my ear. I was too mentally drained to engage with his theatrics. I cut him off mid–sentence, telling him to hand everything over to Evelyn or start updating his resume.
When Evelyn returned with the documents for the auditors, I felt hollow. Allen had warned me it was crucial to compare his copies with Clairemont’s originals, promising answers today. But silence stretched between us like a taut wire.
Hazel had spent the entire day orbiting around me like a guilty planet. Coffee appeared at my elbow without request. Snacks materialized when I skipped lunch, my stomach too knotted to
consider food. She manufactured reasons to enter my office, her eyes searching my something that looked disturbingly like concern.
face with
Tobias Victor, the digital detective Allen had unleashed on our security footage, remained locked in battle with the damaged camera from my advisory office. No word from him either.
The uncertainty was eating me alive. Every minute without Hazel felt like bleeding out slowly.
Mid–afternoon, Evelyn slipped into my office like a shadow, closing the door with deliberate care. She approached my desk with the measured steps of someone delivering news that would change everything.
“You’re coming with me for coffee right now,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Everyone’s waiting.”
My pulse spiked. If they needed to meet outside company walls, they’d discovered something significant. And from Evelyn’s expression, it wasn’t going to destroy Hazel’s reputation.
I stood so quickly my chair rolled backward. “Tell Bianca I’m stepping out with you. Won’t be long
The coffee shop buzzed with afternoon energy, but our corner table felt isolated from the world. I dropped into my chair and ordered coffee with hands that weren’t quite steady.
< 45 Chapter 45- Evidence and Regret
“What did you find?” The words came out rougher than intended.
Allen exchanged glances with the others before leaning forward. “Liam, you’ve made a catastrophic mistake. Hazel never leaked anything.” He slid a thick folder across the table. “This is my complete analysis. The documents Evelyn retrieved from Clairemont are sophisticated forgeries. They don’t match our Saturday copies at all. But here’s the kicker – just from examining these fakes, we can trace exactly how the embezzlement operation works. We’ll need more time to quantify the full scope, but we’re talking substantial theft. And I can guarantee these documents were altered after Evelyn and Damian set their trap. I had our floor’s coffee service lady make copies before anyone knew to cover their tracks.”
The folder felt heavy in my hands as I opened it. Page after page of comparative analysis, highlighted discrepancies, and damning evidence stared back at me. My secretary of fifteen years had betrayed me with surgical precision.
Before I could process the full implications, Tobias cleared his throat. “Mr. Sterling, I managed to salvage one crucial detail from your advisory office camera footage. It’s just a single frame, passes so fast you’d never notice during normal playback.” He rotated his laptop toward me. “Security already replaced the damaged equipment, but I need you to identify this shoe that appears in the image. It’s the only visible evidence from last Monday. Remember, the cameras weren’t installed the previous week.”
I stared at the screen. The shoe was clearly visible low, thick heel, practical design. Nothing like Hazel’s elegant footwear choices.
“Can you pull up footage from my secretary’s office during the same timeframe?” I asked, my voice tight.
Tobias’s fingers flew across the keyboard. The security feed revealed everything in stark black and white, Blanca, moving through Hazel’s office with furtive glances, checking corners like at thief in the night. The shoe match was unmistakable.
The memory hit me like a physical blow. At that exact moment, Hazel had been in my office. I’d been kissing her, lost in the fantasy that we could build something real together.
I was a complete fool. I’d humiliated the woman I loved and been manipulated by my own secretary like a amateur. My vision blurred, throat constricting as the magnitude of my mistake crashed over me.
Everyone at the table watched me with varying degrees of sympathy and expectation. I forced words through my burning throat.
“I wa
was a complete idiot.
“Yeah, my friend, you definitely were, Damian said without sugar–coating anything.
Allen leaned back in his chair. “We haven’t identified who’s receiving the leaked information yet, but now we know the source. My advice? Keep your enemies close. Don’t unmask your
45 Chapter 45–Evidence and Regret
secretary yet. The new coffee service employee has instructions to befriend her, gain her trust. That’s our path to the bigger picture.”
“Allen’s right,” Evelyn added. “Firing Blanca now would alert her accomplice. We’d lose our
advantage.”
“So you’re suggesting I walk back in there and pretend nothing happened? How do I bring Hazel back without clearing the air first? The frustration in my voice was raw.
Damian’s expression grew grim. “Bro, Hazel started working with West today. And honestly? I doubt she’ll come back easily. He slid another folder across the table. “Especially considering how deep her hurt runs.
I opened the folder and felt my world tilt sideways. Hazel’s resignation papers, signed with her precise handwriting. But the severance check remained untouched.
“She refused payment?” I could barely form the words.
“According to the employee who handled delivery, she said she didn’t want a single cent from this company,” Damian reported, his concern evident.
“What the hell is she thinking? She has a son to consider. She might need that money.” This wasn’t the Hazel I knew – practical, financially responsible. “If she refused payment for her work, earning her forgiveness just became impossible.”
Allen’s voice carried weight. “Liam, Hazel is a woman of exceptional character. You’ll have to work harder than you’ve ever worked if you want her forgiveness. She won’t make anything easy
for you.”
“Then what’s my next move?” I felt completely lost, terrified that Hazel would never forgive what I’d done.
“Maintain the status quo, pursue Hazel, and beg for her forgiveness, Evelyn said with quiet certainty. “When the time is right, we’ll remove Blanca and bring Hazel home”
They were right, but I wouldn’t waste another minute. I’d find Hazel today and have a very direct conversation with West about appropriate boundaries.
“Meanwhile, we’ll test the loyalty of your remaining presidential staff,” Allen continued.
“It’s just the coffee service and cleaning staff, Allen,” I said, not understanding the scope.
“Remember, they observe everything, hear everything Caution never hurt anyone,” Allen replied, his thoroughness showing.
“Right. I ran my hands over my face, exhaustion weighing on me like lead. Sleep had become clusive, and now I felt like the worst kind of fool. “What about the employees we discussed infiltrating?”
Owen’s expression turned mysteriously satisfied. “We’ve already placed a janitor and coffee
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server on each floor. It’s been incredibly productive the janitor channels all office waste to the audit team, and we’re finding treasure troves of evidence. We’ll have infiltrated employees in every department by Friday. Don’t worry, Hugo is cooperating beautifully, placing everyone discreetly without raising suspicions.”
“Excellent. Anything else requiring immediate attention?” I asked, scanning their faces.
Everyone shook their heads.
“Then let’s return, Evelyn. I don’t want my efficient secretary sensing anything unusual, I concluded, my smile sharp as a blade.
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