Chapter 3: The Hidden Enemy
841 Words
Two weeks after his meeting with Ivy, Frederick was going through the financial records of Sterling Corporation when he noticed something odd. Large transfers of money to accounts that did not seem to be connected to any legitimate business. At first, he thought it was Ivy's way of handling the settlement, but when he dug deeper, he realized something far more sinister was happening.
Someone was stealing from Sterling Corporation. Someone with access to the highest levels of the company.
Frederick made a phone call to his private investigator, a woman named Sandra who had worked for the Ashford family for over twenty years. What she uncovered in the next forty-eight hours shook him to his core.
Lyra Blaine, Ivy's personal assistant, had been embezzling from Sterling Corporation for over a year. She had stolen over fifty million dollars by creating fake subsidiary companies and routing the money through them. But that was not the worst part.
Lyra had also been feeding information about Sterling Corporation's upcoming projects to a rival company. The rival company belonged to Marcus Chen, the man who Ivy had claimed to be involved with. And Marcus Chen was not just a rival businessman. He was also connected to organized crime.
"She's been working with him from the beginning," Sandra explained over the phone. "Ever since the day you and Ivy got married. She was planted there to gather information and steal resources."
Frederick felt his blood run cold. That meant Lyra had been part of Ivy's life from the very beginning of their marriage. That meant she had access to everything. Everything.
"What about Ivy?" Frederick asked urgently. "Does she know about any of this?"
"No," Sandra said. "From what I can find, she has no idea. She trusted Lyra completely. She still does."
Frederick hung up the phone and immediately called Ivy. She answered on the second ring, her voice wary.
"We need to meet," he said. "It's urgent."
This time, they met in his office at the Ashford Medical Research Center. Frederick showed her all the evidence that Sandra had gathered. He watched as Ivy's face went through a series of emotions: shock, betrayal, anger, and finally, a deep, crushing sadness.
"I brought her into the company myself," Ivy said quietly. "I trusted her more than I trusted anyone except you. And she was stealing from me the whole time."
"It gets worse," Frederick said. He told her about Marcus Chen, about the organized crime connections, about how Lyra had been feeding him information about all of Sterling Corporation's projects.
"The business deals we made over the past three years," Ivy whispered. "The ones that seemed to just fall apart at the last moment. That was because of her?"
"Most likely," Frederick said. "She was sabotaging you."
Ivy stood up and walked to the window, her hands clenched into fists. When she spoke, her voice was deadly calm. "How much did she steal?"
"Over fifty million dollars."
"And how much damage did she cause to Sterling Corporation in total?"
Frederick hesitated. The number was large. Very large. "Over two hundred million dollars in lost revenue and failed projects."
Ivy turned to face him, and Frederick was shocked by the expression in her eyes. Gone was the scared, desperate woman who had come to him in that cafe. In her place was the powerful CEO that he had fallen in love with all those years ago.
"I want her arrested," Ivy said coldly. "I want her prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And I want every cent that she stole returned to Sterling Corporation."
"Already in motion," Frederick said. "Sandra has contacted the police. They should have her in custody within the hour."
But as he was saying those words, Frederick realized something. There was a piece of the puzzle that did not fit. Lyra would not have been able to pull off something like this alone. She would have needed help. She would have needed someone inside Sterling Corporation, someone with access to the financial systems and the business records.
Someone higher up than her.
"Ivy, there's something else you need to know," Frederick said. "Whoever was working with Lyra would have to be someone very close to you. Someone you trust completely."
Ivy's face went pale. "Who?"
Before Frederick could answer, the door to his office burst open. It was Dr. Helen Park, and she looked terrified.
"Frederick, we have a problem," she said urgently. "Someone broke into the laboratory last night. They didn't steal anything, but they accessed our research files. The cure formula has been compromised."
Frederick felt the room spin around him. This was bigger than corporate theft. This was sabotage on a much larger scale.
"Who would have known about the research?" Ivy asked, her voice sharp.
"Only the people in this office know," Frederick said slowly. "And my immediate family. And my research team."
And then it hit him. It hit him like a physical blow.
"My brother," Frederick whispered. "It has to be my brother."
- Writer
