CHAPTER ONE: THE MAN WHO TRUSTED TOO MUCH
The first warning that something was wrong came from a coffee machine.
Andrian Vale stood in the executive lounge of Vale International, staring at the paper cup in his hand.
“Three thousand dollars for this machine,” he muttered. “And it still makes coffee that tastes like wet cardboard.”
“You could always drink the coffee downstairs,” Marcus Reed suggested from the doorway.
Andrian glanced at his best friend. “The coffee downstairs is worse.”
“Perhaps the problem is you.”
Andrian laughed. At twenty-three, he was the only son of Richard Vale, chairman of one of the country's largest business empires. He had grown up surrounded by wealth, luxury cars, and people who smiled whenever his father entered a room.
Yet money had never impressed him much. His military training had taught him discipline, courage, and the importance of judging people by their actions rather than their appearance.
“Your father wants you in the boardroom,” Marcus said.
“Why?”
“He said it's urgent.”
Andrian sighed. “That usually means a billion-dollar mistake or another lecture about my haircut.”
“Considering your haircut, I'd prepare for the lecture.”
Andrian threw a sugar packet at him before heading toward the boardroom.
He was still smiling when he entered.
The smile disappeared almost immediately.
His father sat at the head of the table. Beside him were Victor Vale, Andrian's uncle and the company's chief financial officer, and Damian Vale, Victor's son. Several senior executives sat silently around them.
Richard pointed to an empty chair.
“Sit down, Andrian.”
Andrian obeyed. “What's happened?”
Victor pushed a folder across the table.
“Our internal audit discovered suspicious transfers from one of the company's investment accounts.”
Andrian opened the folder. Several transactions were listed, each accompanied by an authorisation record.
Then he saw his name.
Two hundred million dollars had allegedly been transferred into an offshore account linked to a private company under his control.
He had never heard of the company.
“What is this?” he asked.
Damian leaned forward. “Don't pretend you don't know. Your credentials authorised the transfers.”
“My credentials?”
“The records show your approval.”
Andrian examined the documents carefully. His name appeared beside the transactions, but something about the authorisation records seemed wrong.
“This account requires two approvals,” he said. “Mine and the finance director's. Have you checked the access logs and security footage?”
“We're investigating,” Richard replied.
“Then why does everyone look as if they've already decided I'm guilty?”
Victor frowned. “Your attitude isn't helping.”
“And accusing me without proper evidence isn't helping either.”
Damian gave a mocking smile. “Perhaps you should have thought about that before stealing from your own family.”
Andrian turned toward him.
“If I wanted two hundred million dollars, Damian, I wouldn't need to steal it. I could simply ask your father how he manages to spend so much of the company's money entertaining people who don't like him.”
Marcus would have laughed at the remark, but nobody in the boardroom did.
Richard struck the table.
“Enough!”
Silence followed.
“Until this matter is resolved, you will surrender your executive access and step away from company operations,” Richard ordered.
Andrian stared at him.
“You're suspending me?”
“I'm protecting the company.”
“From your own son?”
“From the possibility that you are involved.”
For the first time, Andrian struggled to find an answer.
He could accept an investigation. He could understand his father's concern. But Richard had not even asked whether he was innocent.
Andrian closed the folder and stood.
“Fine. Freeze my access. Examine every transaction and question everyone involved. But I will not apologise for something I didn't do.”
He placed his company access card on the table.
Then he walked out without looking back.
His phone rang before he reached the lift.
Isabella Sterling, his fiancée.
“Where are you?” she asked.
“At the office. What's wrong?”
“I heard about the missing money. Is it true?”
“Someone used my credentials. I didn't transfer anything.”
“I want to believe you.”
Andrian stopped walking.
“You want to believe me?”
“Don't twist my words. This is serious, Andrian. People are already talking about your family. Our engagement could become part of the scandal.”
He rubbed his forehead.
Their engagement had never been merely an arrangement between wealthy families. Isabella was intelligent, confident, and unafraid to challenge him. She was one of the few people who could make him laugh when he was angry.
He had believed she trusted him.
“Isabella, I've done nothing wrong. I'll prove it.”
“I hope you can.”
“And if I can't?”
She remained silent for several seconds.
“Then I don't know what our future will look like.”
The call ended.
Andrian stared at his phone, feeling a disappointment he had not expected.
Marcus approached him.
“Was that Isabella?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“She wants the truth.”
Marcus waited for him to continue.
Andrian slipped his phone into his pocket.
“She just isn't sure she wants to hear it from me.”
For once, Marcus had no joke to offer.
That evening, Andrian visited a small restaurant near the river. It was one of the few places where nobody cared about his surname.
The owner greeted him warmly, and Andrian ordered his usual meal before taking a seat beside the window.
For the first time that day, he allowed himself to think.
Someone had transferred two hundred million dollars using his identity. His uncle appeared more interested in blaming him than finding the culprit. His father had suspended him without hearing his explanation.
And Isabella had begun to doubt him.
His phone vibrated.
An unfamiliar woman stood beside his table.
“Are you Andrian Vale?” she asked.
“That depends. Are you selling something?”
She smiled slightly. “Serena Hart. I'm an investigative journalist.”
“Then the answer is definitely no.”
“I haven't asked you anything yet.”
“Journalists arrive with questions. Salespeople arrive with smiles. You brought neither.”
Serena laughed and gestured toward the empty chair.
“May I sit?”
Andrian nodded.
She placed a folder on the table.
“I've been investigating financial irregularities involving Vale International. I believe someone may be framing you.”
His expression changed.
“Why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn't. Not yet.”
Her straightforward answer surprised him.
She opened the folder and showed him a transaction report.
“This company received money from the same investment account. But the transfer happened before your credentials were used.”
Andrian examined the account number. It matched the information in the documents he had seen that morning.
“How did you obtain this?”
“I have sources familiar with your company's financial operations. One of them says the authorisation system was accessed from outside your office.”
“Can you prove it?”
“Not yet. But I believe someone is hiding something.”
“Why bring this to me?”
“Because you're the person being blamed, and I think you deserve to know what I've found.”
Andrian studied her face. She wasn't promising to rescue him or pretending to know everything. She was simply offering information.
“What do you want from me?”
“Your cooperation. If you have access to other records, they might help us discover who is responsible.”
“I'll review what I have at home. If I find something useful, I'll contact you.”
Serena closed the folder and stood.
“One more thing, Andrian.”
“What?”
“Don't assume the person who betrayed you is the person you dislike most.”
Before he could question her, she walked away.
Andrian watched her leave, wondering what she knew that she hadn't told him.
Then his phone vibrated again.
A message from an unknown number appeared, accompanied by a photograph of the entrance to his private office at Vale International.
The picture had been taken late at night.
Beneath it were eight words.
Stop searching, or your father will pay.
Andrian read the message twice.
This was no longer simply about money or reputation. Someone had gone to considerable lengths to frame him, and now that person was threatening his father.
He looked toward the restaurant entrance where Serena had disappeared.
Perhaps he would need her help after all.
But whoever was behind this had made one serious mistake.
They had assumed he would be frightened into silence.
Andrian put his phone away and finished his meal.
He would investigate the transactions, uncover the truth, and discover why someone wanted him destroyed.
He had spent his entire life trusting his family.
Now he needed to learn whether that trust had been his greatest strength—or his greatest weakness.
End of Chapter One
