Chapter 9: The First Warning
1067 Words
Lena Hart returned to her office determined to forget the conversation with Alexander.
It wasn't working.
His final words kept repeating in her mind.
Your father didn't die because of the money.
Then why had he died?
She opened the financial records again, hoping numbers would give her an answer people refused to provide.
For the next two hours, she worked through old transactions.
Northstar Holdings.
Meridian Capital Partners.
Michael Grant.
Daniel Hart.
Every name seemed connected somehow.
But the connection remained just out of reach.
At eleven thirty, Lena noticed something strange.
A document had been added to the folder she was reviewing.
She frowned.
She hadn't opened it before.
The file contained a single sheet of paper.
No letterhead.
No signature.
Only one sentence.
LEAVE BLACKWOOD INTERNATIONAL.
Lena stared at it.
Her first thought was that it was a joke.
Then she noticed something written underneath.
Your father didn't listen. Look what happened to him.
Her fingers went cold.
She looked toward the glass wall of her office.
The corridor outside was busy.
Employees walked past carrying files and coffee.
Nobody appeared to be watching her.
Lena folded the paper and placed it inside her drawer.
She didn't want anyone to know she had received it.
Especially not Alexander.
At least, not yet.
She stood and walked toward the restroom.
On the way, she passed two employees speaking quietly near the elevators.
The conversation stopped when they saw her.
Lena continued walking.
When she returned ten minutes later, another piece of paper was waiting on her desk.
Her heart dropped.
She hadn't left anyone inside her office.
The note was shorter.
YOU WERE WARNED.
Lena looked around.
The office door was still locked.
She checked her computer.
Nothing.
Then she noticed the security camera above the corridor.
If someone had entered her office, security should have recorded it.
Unless they had access to the system.
Lena immediately went to the security department.
The guard at the desk looked surprised to see her.
"Can I help you?"
"I need access to the camera footage from my floor."
He hesitated.
"That's restricted."
"I work under Mr. Blackwood."
"Even then, I need authorization."
Lena pulled out her access card.
"Then contact him."
The guard picked up the phone.
A few seconds later, he looked at her.
"Mr. Blackwood says to send you upstairs."
Of course.
Lena turned away.
She knew exactly what that meant.
Alexander already knew something was wrong.
She reached his office and entered without knocking.
Alexander looked up from his desk.
"What happened?"
Lena placed both notes in front of him.
His eyes moved over the words.
His expression became cold.
"Where did you get these?"
"They were on my desk."
"When?"
"The first one was there around eleven thirty. The second appeared while I was gone."
Alexander stood.
"Who knew you were investigating?"
"You."
"Anyone else?"
"Rebecca knows my position."
"Who else?"
Lena shook her head.
"Nobody."
Alexander picked up the second note.
"Did you touch anything else?"
"No."
"Good."
He walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Security."
"I'm coming."
They walked through the executive floor together.
Lena noticed how quickly Alexander's mood had changed.
He wasn't irritated anymore.
He was focused.
Dangerously focused.
At the security room, Alexander ordered the cameras to be pulled up.
The guard hesitated.
"Mr. Blackwood, the footage from Ms. Hart's floor has a gap."
Alexander's eyes hardened.
"What kind of gap?"
"Fourteen minutes."
"When?"
"Between eleven seventeen and eleven thirty-one."
Lena looked at him.
"That's when the first note appeared."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"Who disabled the cameras?"
"We don't know."
"Find out."
The guard immediately turned back to the monitors.
Lena folded her arms.
"This isn't random."
"No."
"Someone inside the company has access to security."
"Yes."
"And they know about my investigation."
"Yes."
"Which means they could be watching me."
Alexander looked at her.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you."
Lena's frustration rose.
"You could have told me this yesterday."
"I was trying to keep you safe."
"Keeping me uninformed isn't keeping me safe."
He stepped closer.
"You're right."
The admission surprised her.
Alexander rarely admitted fault.
"I should have told you."
Lena looked at the notes.
"What do we do now?"
"We find out who sent them."
"And if we can't?"
His gaze hardened.
"Then we assume they're still watching."
Lena's phone suddenly vibrated.
She pulled it from her pocket.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
ASK ALEXANDER WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT YOUR FATHER DIED.
Lena's blood ran cold.
Alexander noticed her expression.
"What is it?"
She showed him the screen.
He read the message.
For the first time, genuine alarm appeared in his eyes.
"Delete it."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
"No."
"Lena."
"You told me my father didn't die because of the money."
Alexander went silent.
"Now someone is telling me to ask you what happened that night."
His expression hardened.
"This person is trying to manipulate you."
"Maybe."
"Don't respond."
"Why?"
"Because that's what they want."
Lena stared at him.
"Whoever this is knows things about my father."
"They may know enough to make you believe them."
"And what if they're telling the truth?"
Alexander didn't answer.
That silence told her more than his words had.
Lena stepped closer.
"You know something."
His eyes met hers.
"I told you what I could."
"No. You told me what you wanted me to know."
Before Alexander could respond, the security guard called out.
"Mr. Blackwood."
They both turned.
The guard was staring at the monitor.
"We found something."
Alexander walked toward him.
"What?"
The guard pointed at the screen.
A man in a dark coat appeared on the footage from the executive floor.
His face was hidden.
But in his hand was a keycard.
The guard zoomed in.
Lena's heart stopped.
The card belonged to an employee.
The name was visible.
DANIEL HART.
She stared at the screen.
"That's impossible."
Her father's keycard had supposedly been destroyed twelve years ago.
Alexander's expression turned grim.
"It shouldn't exist."
The screen suddenly went black.
The guard froze.
Then every monitor in the security room shut down.
Lena looked at Alexander.
He looked back at her.
Neither spoke.
Somewhere inside Blackwood International, someone had just proven that they could erase the evidence whenever they wanted.
And now they had something far more frightening than a warning.
They had her father's keycard.
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End of Chapter 9
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