THE CEO'S SECRET PROMISE

THE FIRST DAY

Chapter Four

Amelia arrived at Blake International ten minutes early.

She hadn't slept much.

Her father's warning kept replaying in her mind.

Stay away from Adrian Blake.

But every unanswered question only made her more determined.

She stepped out of the elevator and walked toward her office.

"Good morning."

She stopped.

Victoria stood beside her desk with two cups of coffee.

"Good morning," Amelia replied.

Victoria handed her one.

"You look like you didn't sleep."

"I didn't."

"First day nerves?"

"Something like that."

Victoria smiled.

"You'll get used to the place."

Amelia glanced toward Adrian's office.

"Does he always act like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like he already knows everything."

Victoria laughed.

"That's Adrian."

Before Amelia could respond, Adrian's voice came from behind them.

"Am I interrupting?"

Victoria immediately straightened.

"No, sir."

Adrian looked at Amelia.

"Conference room. Ten minutes."

Then he walked away.

Amelia sighed.

"Does he ever say good morning?"

Victoria whispered, "Not when he's in a bad mood."

"Is he always in a bad mood?"

"Almost."

---

The conference room was already occupied when Amelia entered.

Three executives sat around the table.

Adrian stood at the head.

"Sit."

Amelia took the empty chair.

Adrian placed several documents on the table.

"Carter Holdings has three major problems."

He pointed to the first page.

"Debt."

Second page.

"Missing funds."

Third page.

"An unstable management team."

Amelia frowned.

"My father's management team isn't unstable."

"Two directors have resigned in the last month."

"Because of the financial crisis."

"Exactly."

He looked around the table.

"Today, we're going to determine whether Carter Holdings can survive."

One of the executives spoke.

"Mr. Blake, perhaps we should simply acquire the remaining shares."

Amelia immediately looked at him.

"No."

The man frowned.

"Ms. Carter—"

"My family isn't selling."

Adrian looked at her.

"That's why you're here."

She wasn't sure whether that was praise or criticism.

The meeting continued for nearly two hours.

Amelia discovered that Adrian had studied her family's company in incredible detail.

He knew about its suppliers.

Its employees.

Its debts.

Even its smallest contracts.

At one point, she couldn't help asking,

"How long have you been investigating us?"

Adrian looked at her.

"Long enough."

That answer annoyed her.

After the meeting ended, Amelia returned to her office.

She opened the financial documents again.

Something wasn't right.

She compared two transactions.

Both had been made on the same day six years ago.

But the second transaction had been entered into the system three days later.

Someone had changed the records.

Amelia leaned closer to the screen.

"Who did this?"

"Looking for something?"

She nearly jumped.

Adrian stood at the doorway.

"You need to stop appearing behind me."

"I knocked."

"I didn't hear you."

He walked toward the desk.

"What did you find?"

She turned the laptop toward him.

"Someone altered these records."

Adrian studied the screen.

"When?"

"Six years ago."

He became silent.

Amelia watched his expression carefully.

"You know something."

"I know that those records were supposed to have been destroyed."

"Why?"

"Because they were part of the investigation."

"What investigation?"

Adrian didn't answer.

She stood.

"You can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Giving me half an answer every time I ask a question."

His expression hardened.

"You want the truth?"

"Yes."

"Then be prepared for what comes with it."

Before Amelia could respond, Adrian's assistant rushed into the room.

"Sir."

Adrian turned.

"What is it?"

"The security team found someone trying to access the old archive."

"Who?"

"We don't know. They left before security arrived."

Adrian's eyes shifted toward Amelia.

She immediately understood.

"The missing file."

He nodded.

"Exactly."

---

Later that afternoon, Amelia was walking through the archive department when she noticed a man leaving one of the restricted rooms.

He saw her.

Then immediately turned around.

"Wait!"

The man began walking faster.

Amelia followed.

"Hey!"

He disappeared around the corner.

She reached the hallway just in time to see the elevator doors closing.

She pressed the button repeatedly.

Nothing.

When she returned to the archive, she noticed something lying on the floor.

A small silver key.

Amelia picked it up.

There was a number engraved on it.

17.

She turned it over.

Nothing else.

"That's not yours."

She spun around.

Adrian stood behind her.

"What does it open?"

"I don't know."

He took the key from her.

His expression changed.

"Where did you find this?"

"Outside the archive."

Adrian stared at it for several seconds.

Then he looked at her.

"You need to leave."

"What?"

"Go home."

"I'm not leaving."

"Amelia."

"I found something."

"I know."

"And you're scared."

His eyes narrowed.

"I'm not scared."

"Then tell me what the key opens."

He said nothing.

She folded her arms.

"That's what I thought."

Adrian walked past her.

"Follow me."

They stopped outside a small room at the end of the corridor.

A metal door stood in front of them.

Adrian inserted the key.

It clicked.

Amelia's heart began pounding.

The door opened.

Inside was a small storage room filled with old boxes.

Adrian walked straight to one of them.

He pulled it out.

The label read:

CARTER-BLAKE PROJECT — CONFIDENTIAL

Amelia stared at it.

"This is what happened six years ago."

Adrian nodded.

She reached for the box.

Before she could open it, Adrian's phone rang.

He answered.

His expression changed almost immediately.

"What?"

He listened.

Then said quietly,

"Lock the building."

Amelia looked at him.

"What happened?"

Adrian ended the call.

"The person who entered the archive wasn't looking for the file."

"Then what were they looking for?"

Adrian looked at the box in her hands.

"They were looking for you."

Amelia froze.

The lights in the corridor suddenly went out.

For several seconds, everything was dark.

Then the emergency lights flickered on.

Adrian stepped in front of Amelia.

"Stay behind me."

A sound came from somewhere down the hallway.

Footsteps.

Slow.

Getting closer.

Amelia held her breath.

Adrian stared into the darkness.

Then the footsteps stopped.

A piece of paper slid underneath the storage-room door.

Amelia picked it up.

There was only one sentence written on it.

You should have listened to your father.

Adrian read the message.

His face became completely expressionless.

Amelia looked at him.

"What are we dealing with?"

Adrian folded the paper.

"Someone who has been waiting six years for this day."

And for the first time, Amelia realized that the contract she had signed might not have been the beginning of the story.

It might have been the beginning of the danger.