Chapter 6
1757 Words
By seven the next morning, Elena was already inside Black Empire Holdings.
She had spent most of the previous night studying the Madison Heights project, but the more she learned, the less comfortable she became.
The problem wasn't simply the missing eight hundred million dollars.
There were inconsistencies throughout the project.
Small ones.
Easy to overlook.
But Elena had learned something about numbers during her years of studying business.
Numbers rarely lied.
People did.
She stepped out of the elevator on the executive floor with a folder tucked beneath her arm.
Grace followed closely behind.
“You slept for three hours,” Grace said.
“I've had worse nights.”
“That doesn't make it healthy.”
Elena glanced at her.
“Are you my assistant or my mother?”
“Today? Both.”
Elena laughed softly.
They reached her office.
Grace placed a stack of documents on the desk.
“These were delivered from the financial department.”
Elena immediately opened the first file.
“The supplemental report?”
“Yes.”
Elena scanned the pages.
Her expression slowly changed.
“This doesn't make sense.”
Grace leaned over.
“What?”
Elena pointed to a figure.
“The construction supplier claims they increased their prices by fourteen percent.”
“And?”
“The contract says their prices are fixed for twelve months.”
Grace frowned.
“So they shouldn't have been able to increase them?”
“Not without approval.”
Elena turned another page.
“And there is no approval.”
Grace looked at her.
“Could it be an accounting error?”
“It could.”
Elena closed the file.
“But I'm starting to doubt that.”
A knock came at the door.
Daniel Cross entered.
“Miss Sinclair.”
Elena looked up.
“Mr. Cross.”
“I was asked to brief you on the project before your meeting with Vale International.”
“Please sit.”
Daniel took the chair opposite her.
He appeared calm.
Too calm.
“The Madison Heights project is one of our most important developments,” he said. “The delays are unfortunate, but they're manageable.”
Elena studied him.
“How long have you been overseeing the financial side?”
“Almost three years.”
“And you've reviewed these contracts personally?”
“Yes.”
“Then explain this.”
She slid the supplier contract toward him.
Daniel looked at it.
“The supplier requested an adjustment.”
“I know.”
“And the adjustment was approved.”
“By whom?”
He hesitated.
“Several executives.”
“Names?”
Daniel's expression tightened.
“I'd have to check.”
Elena leaned back.
“You just told me you've personally reviewed the contracts.”
“I have.”
“Then you should know.”
A few seconds passed.
Finally, Daniel stood.
“I'll get the information.”
Elena nodded.
“Please do.”
He walked out.
Grace waited until the door closed.
“You don't trust him.”
Elena looked at the closed door.
“I don't know him well enough to trust him.”
“That sounds like a no.”
“It is.”
Elena returned to the documents.
She had expected her first day inside Black Empire Holdings to be difficult.
She hadn't expected to feel like she was walking through a room full of hidden traps.
And she hadn't yet seen the heart of the empire.
---
At ten thirty, Grace led Elena through the executive floors.
The building was far larger than Elena remembered.
Black Empire Holdings wasn't simply an office.
It was a machine.
Thousands of employees moved through the building every day.
Executives rushed between meetings.
Phones rang constantly.
Screens displayed financial reports, market movements, construction updates, and international operations.
Every department seemed to be moving at once.
Grace explained each division as they walked.
“Real estate occupies floors twenty through thirty-two.”
“Hotels and resorts are thirty-three through forty.”
“Capital and investments are forty-one through fifty.”
“Technology is fifty-one through sixty.”
“Executive operations and the board occupy sixty-one through seventy-two.”
Elena looked through the glass walls separating the offices.
People were working.
Real people.
People whose salaries depended on decisions made by executives sitting in rooms like the one she had just left.
For the first time, the size of what she was being asked to inherit truly hit her.
This wasn't just a company.
It was a world.
And every decision she made could affect thousands of lives.
Grace stopped outside the technology division.
“There's someone you should meet.”
A young man approached them.
“Miss Sinclair.”
He was dressed casually compared with most executives in the building.
“Ethan Cole,” he introduced himself.
“I know who you are,” Elena said.
Ethan smiled.
“That's slightly terrifying.”
Grace laughed.
Ethan was the head of strategic technology development, despite being only twenty-eight.
He was one of the youngest senior executives in the company.
“I heard about your appointment,” he said.
“I assume everyone has.”
“Pretty much.”
“And what do you think?”
Ethan considered the question.
“I think Alexander Sinclair doesn't make careless decisions.”
Elena smiled.
“That's not exactly an answer.”
“No.”
He lowered his voice.
“But it's the only answer I can safely give you before we've worked together.”
Elena appreciated his honesty.
“What do you think about Madison Heights?”
Ethan's expression changed.
“That's a complicated project.”
“Why?”
“Because the numbers aren't the only problem.”
Elena's attention sharpened.
“What do you mean?”
Ethan glanced around before speaking.
“Some of the technology contracts connected to the development were changed without going through the usual approval process.”
Elena's stomach tightened.
“Who changed them?”
“I don't know.”
“Can you find out?”
“I can try.”
“Do it.”
Ethan nodded.
“Consider it done.”
As Elena walked away, she realized something.
The problem with Madison Heights might be much larger than she thought.
---
At noon, Elena entered the Black Empire's main executive dining room.
She expected it to be empty.
Instead, she found Adrian Vale sitting alone near the windows.
He looked up as she entered.
Their eyes met.
Elena almost turned around.
Almost.
Instead, she walked toward him.
“Do you work here now?”
Adrian's lips curved slightly.
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Your grandfather invited me.”
“Of course he did.”
She pulled out the chair opposite him.
Adrian looked at her.
“You're sitting?”
“I'm hungry.”
He nodded.
“That seems reasonable.”
A waiter approached.
Elena ordered lunch.
Adrian continued watching her.
“How much did you discover?”
She frowned.
“About what?”
“Madison Heights.”
She studied him.
“You already know something.”
“I know a lot.”
“Then why make me find it myself?”
“Because you won't learn anything if people keep handing you answers.”
Elena leaned back.
“You really enjoy testing people.”
“Only when they're worth testing.”
The words caught her off guard.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Elena broke the silence.
“I found inconsistencies in the supplier contracts.”
Adrian's expression didn't change.
“I expected you would.”
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because it's your project.”
“You're helping evaluate me.”
“No.”
He looked directly at her.
“I'm competing against you.”
Elena narrowed her eyes.
“And that's supposed to make me feel better?”
“No.”
She almost laughed.
At least he was honest.
Her food arrived.
She picked up her fork.
“Tomorrow's meeting.”
“Yes?”
“You're planning to take the investment.”
“Yes.”
“You're very confident.”
“I wouldn't be here if I weren't.”
Elena looked at him.
“You know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think you're used to winning.”
Adrian's eyes held hers.
“I am.”
“Well, get used to something else.”
“What?”
“Losing.”
For a moment, silence stretched between them.
Then Adrian smiled.
It was brief.
Barely there.
But Elena saw it.
And she couldn't understand why that tiny smile affected her more than it should have.
“You're confident,” he said.
“I have to be.”
“Why?”
“Because everyone is waiting for me to fail.”
Adrian's expression changed.
Something unreadable crossed his face.
“Then don't give them the satisfaction.”
Elena looked at him.
It was the first genuinely encouraging thing he'd said to her.
Before she could respond, her phone rang.
Grace.
Elena answered.
“Hello?”
“Miss Sinclair, you need to come back upstairs.”
“Why?”
“Daniel Cross just sent another report.”
Elena frowned.
“What about it?”
Grace hesitated.
“You should see it yourself.”
Elena stood.
“I'll be there.”
She ended the call.
Adrian looked at her.
“Problem?”
“Maybe.”
She picked up her bag.
“See you tomorrow.”
Adrian nodded.
“Elena.”
She stopped.
“Good luck.”
She looked back at him.
“Don't wish me luck.”
“Why?”
“I'd rather earn the win.”
Then she walked away.
Adrian watched her leave.
For the first time since meeting Elena Sinclair, he wondered whether Alexander had chosen the right person after all.
---
Elena reached her office minutes later.
Grace was waiting.
She handed Elena the report.
Elena opened it.
Her eyes immediately moved to the bottom of the page.
Then she froze.
The document contained an approval signature.
Her signature.
Elena stared at it.
“I never signed this.”
Grace looked at her.
“That's what I thought.”
Elena's heart began pounding.
Someone had forged her approval.
And if that document was used against her, it could make it look like she had personally authorized millions of dollars in questionable expenses.
She slowly closed the file.
Her first day at Black Empire Holdings wasn't even over.
And someone had already begun setting a trap.
End of Chapter 6
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