The Executive Lie

Chapter 6: The Hidden Liability

I spent the next 24 hours buried in the Level Seven accounts. The data flow was immense. My suite became my bunker, the only lights being the ones from the screen of the monitors. I found several contracts that seemed technically sound but really were causing financial losses. I flagged them all.

I paid special attention to the Vance Security Contract. It was run by Aegis Solutions, and it was one of the first contracts Elias had specifically requested. I knew the name. It was a company that George Vance had always used. The terms were inefficient and the cost was too high. It was an expensive favor that had become a liability.

It hurt, but I followed my promise to Elias. I drafted a concise, professional report detailing the immediate need for termination. I had to prove my loyalty to the numbers over my loyalty to George. When I finished, I sent the report to Elias's private server.

Less than an hour later, I saw the notification on the Thorne system: Aegis Solutions Contract: Termination Executed.

The speed was breathtaking. Elias hadn't needed a meeting or a discussion. He had trusted my numbers implicitly and acted instantly.

The life of a company, the biggest contract for a family friend, had been decided in an hour, based on my audit.

I leaned back in my chair, staring out at the dark city. I felt a cold, professional victory, but it was mixed with immense guilt.

This was the cost of saving Vance Publishing. I had to be the one to dismantle its history. I was the ruthless surgeon, using my own knowledge to cut away the dead parts of my old company.

My phone buzzed. It was Ben. I answered the call”

“Hey. George called me. He said some security contract just got taken down. He sounded really unhappy. Was that you, Clara?

I gulped. I knew I couldn't tell Ben the full truth. That I was now deep inside Thorne's most secret systems. I couldn't break the security protocol.

“I'm sorry. It's the integration team. I don't control the final decisions on vendor contracts anymore. It's happening fast.*

I hated the lie, but I couldn't risk the job. Elias required discretion, and I had accepted the terms. Ben wouldn't understand the complex loyalty I now held to the man who rescued us.

I looked across the silent hall to Elias Thorne's door. He had shown no hesitation, no emotion. He simply trusted the efficiency I provided. I was his necessary weapon.

I just had to continue the audit. ​I pulled up the overall cash flow reports, going back six years. I was looking for any major, strange payments that might signal a deeper financial weakness.

​Most of the report was what I expected. But deep in the old data, past the recent acquisition period, I saw something that made me freeze. ​It was a regular payment made every single month for the last six years. It was labeled vaguely and it went to a private account that I couldn't immediately identify. The amount was significant, and the consistency was perfect.

How could I not have seen this over the years?

​This wasn't an inefficiency. This was a secret. ​I quickly pulled the recipient data but I wasn’t able to access it. ​I minimized the window instantly. I have to find out what this means, I thought, gripping the edge of the desk. It could destroy Vance's reputation, and could become a problem for me if Elias identified it himself.