Chapter 5 — The Bennett Scandal
1547 Words
By Friday morning, I had convinced myself that the worst part of my first week at Veyron Holdings was over.
I was wrong.
The office felt different that morning.
People were talking more quietly.
Phones kept ringing.
Employees gathered in small groups before quickly separating whenever someone walked past.
Something had happened.
I noticed it the moment I stepped through the doors.
Sophie was already at her desk.
She looked up when she saw me.
“You're here early.”
“So are you.”
“I couldn't sleep.”
I dropped my bag beside my chair.
“Why?”
She looked around before answering.
“Have you checked the news?”
“No.”
“Check.”
I pulled out my phone.
There were dozens of notifications.
Business headlines.
Financial updates.
News alerts.
One headline immediately caught my attention.
BENNETT HOLDINGS FACES MAJOR FINANCIAL INVESTIGATION.
I stared at the screen.
“What's Bennett Holdings?”
Sophie pulled her chair closer.
“It's one of Veyron's biggest competitors.”
I opened the article.
The report described irregularities surrounding a major financial transaction involving Bennett Holdings.
Several senior executives were being questioned.
There were allegations of hidden accounts, falsified records and suspicious transfers.
I scrolled through the article.
Then stopped.
“Why is Veyron mentioned?”
Sophie looked at the screen.
“Because Bennett Holdings was preparing a major partnership with Veyron.”
I looked at her.
“Was?”
“Apparently.”
“What happened?”
“Nobody knows everything yet.”
She lowered her voice.
“But the timing is strange.”
“Why?”
“Because Adrian canceled the partnership two days ago.”
I stared at her.
“Two days ago?”
She nodded.
“Without giving anyone much explanation.”
I thought about my meeting with Adrian.
His warning.
His insistence on honesty.
His serious expression.
I looked back at the article.
“Do you think he knew?”
Sophie shrugged.
“Adrian usually knows more than he says.”
That sentence stayed with me.
By ten o'clock, the entire company knew about the scandal.
The communications department was overwhelmed.
Emails kept coming in.
Journalists were requesting statements.
Investors wanted answers.
Even employees who normally avoided office gossip were discussing Bennett Holdings.
I tried to stay focused on my work.
It wasn't easy.
Every few minutes, another notification appeared.
Then my supervisor walked into the department.
“Everyone, listen.”
The room became quiet.
“Until further notice, no one is authorized to speak to the press about the Bennett situation.”
Several people nodded.
“Any external inquiry must be forwarded to communications.”
He looked around the room.
“Is that clear?”
“Yes.”
He left.
Sophie turned toward me.
“See?”
I nodded.
“Something is definitely wrong.”
She lowered her voice.
“Something has been wrong for a while.”
“What do you mean?”
She glanced toward the executive floor.
“I heard there were concerns about Bennett's financial records months ago.”
“Why didn't anyone investigate?”
“Maybe they did.”
“Then why is it happening now?”
She shrugged.
“That's what everyone is trying to figure out.”
I returned to my screen.
But I couldn't concentrate.
Something about the story bothered me.
Not because of Bennett.
Because of Adrian.
He had canceled the partnership two days before the scandal became public.
That couldn't be a coincidence.
Could it?
At lunchtime, Sophie and I sat near the windows.
She was scrolling through her phone.
I was staring at mine.
A new article appeared.
Veyron Holdings Declines Comment on Bennett Investigation.
I showed Sophie.
She nodded.
“Expected.”
“Do you think Adrian knew?”
“Probably.”
“How?”
“He's the CEO.”
“That doesn't answer the question.”
“No.”
She put down her phone.
“You're curious.”
“I like understanding things.”
“Careful.”
“Why?”
“Curiosity gets people into trouble.”
I smiled.
“That's dramatic.”
“I'm serious.”
She leaned closer.
“There's another rumor.”
“What rumor?”
“Bennett wasn't the only company being investigated.”
I frowned.
“Who else?”
Sophie hesitated.
“I don't know.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because I heard someone inside Veyron may have known about it.”
I stopped eating.
“Someone here?”
She nodded.
“Possibly.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Before I could ask anything else, someone called Sophie's name from across the cafeteria.
She stood.
“I'll be back.”
I nodded.
She walked away.
I looked back at my phone.
The Bennett article was still open.
I read the same paragraph three times.
Something didn't make sense.
If Adrian had known about the financial irregularities, why had he waited until two days ago to cancel the partnership?
Unless he hadn't just discovered the problem.
Unless he had been investigating it.
I locked my phone.
I was thinking too much.
That was what I told myself.
Then my phone buzzed.
An email.
From an internal Veyron address.
Subject: Bennett Holdings — Restricted
I stared at it.
I hadn't requested anything.
I opened the message.
There was no greeting.
No explanation.
Just one line.
Do not discuss the Bennett matter with anyone.
I read it twice.
Then a second message appeared.
Especially not Adrian.
My heart stopped.
I looked around the cafeteria.
Nobody seemed to be watching me.
I quickly locked my phone.
Sophie returned.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
She studied my face.
“You don't look okay.”
“I'm fine.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
She sat down.
I tried to act normal.
But my thoughts were racing.
Someone inside Veyron Holdings had sent me a warning.
And somehow, they knew I was interested in the Bennett case.
I hadn't told anyone.
Not even Sophie.
That afternoon, I stayed late.
I told myself it was because I wanted to finish my work.
It wasn't.
I wanted answers.
The office was almost empty by seven.
I opened the Bennett files that were available to my department.
Most of the information was routine.
Contracts.
Meeting notes.
Financial summaries.
Nothing unusual.
Then I noticed a name.
Richard Bennett.
I had seen it before.
I searched the internal system.
Several documents appeared.
I opened one.
Then another.
Then another.
The more I read, the stranger it became.
There were references to meetings with Adrian.
Dates that didn't match.
Financial figures that had been revised.
Documents that had apparently been removed from the system.
I leaned closer to the screen.
“What were you hiding?”
“That's a good question.”
I jumped.
I turned around.
Adrian stood behind me.
My heart slammed against my chest.
“Mr. Veyron.”
He looked at the screen.
Then at me.
“What are you doing?”
“Working.”
“On Bennett?”
I swallowed.
“I was reviewing the available reports.”
“Why?”
“I was curious.”
His expression hardened.
“Curiosity isn't a reason to access restricted information.”
“I didn't access anything restricted.”
He stepped closer.
“Did you?”
“No.”
His eyes remained on mine.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he looked back at the screen.
“You should go home.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because this isn't your problem.”
“Maybe it is.”
His eyes returned to me.
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
Certain.
“You don't understand what you're looking at.”
“Then explain it to me.”
Something changed in his expression.
Not anger.
Something else.
Concern.
“You don't want to get involved in this, Amelia.”
My name sounded different coming from him.
More serious.
I stood.
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
“Mr. Veyron?”
He looked at me.
“Because some things are better left alone.”
I stared at him.
“Is that a warning?”
“Yes.”
The word was quiet.
But it was unmistakable.
He walked past me.
Then stopped at the door.
Without turning around, he said,
“And if anyone contacts you about Bennett Holdings, you come directly to me.”
The door closed.
I stood there alone.
My heart was still racing.
I looked at the computer screen.
Then at the door Adrian had just walked through.
Someone had warned me not to talk to him.
Adrian had just warned me to come directly to him.
Two warnings.
Opposite directions.
And suddenly, I wasn't sure which one frightened me more.
I shut down the computer and grabbed my bag.
As I walked toward the elevator, my phone buzzed.
Another message.
Unknown sender.
I opened it.
There was only one sentence.
You should have listened to the first warning.
I stopped walking.
The message disappeared from my screen.
Deleted.
I stared at my phone.
Then slowly looked toward the empty hallway.
For the first time since arriving in New York, I realized something.
The Bennett scandal wasn't just a corporate problem.
Someone was watching me.
And they didn't want me asking questions.
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