Chapter 18 - A Dangerous Lead
1551 Words
Monday morning arrived with an unusual sense of urgency.
The executive floor of De Luca Holdings buzzed with activity as employees hurried from one department to another.
Everyone seemed to have something to do.
Everyone...
Except Sienna.
She stood quietly before the large window of her office, watching Milan wake beneath a cloudy sky.
Her fingers rested lightly against the glass.
Behind her, the Falcon Freight file remained open on her desk.
Someone had gone to great lengths to make the company appear legitimate.
Too much effort.
Too much money.
For a simple logistics contract.
"No..."
She murmured to herself.
"This isn't random."
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Come in."
Kai stepped inside carrying two thick folders.
"I've got something."
Sienna turned.
"So quickly?"
"I didn't sleep much."
He placed both folders on her desk.
"I dug through every public record I could find."
"And?"
"The deeper I looked..."
"The stranger it became."
She sat down.
"Tell me."
Kai opened the first folder.
"Falcon Freight officially has twelve employees."
"Only twelve?"
"Yes."
"But according to the contracts they've signed over the last six months..."
He slid another document toward her.
"...they'd need at least two hundred employees to fulfill them."
Sienna frowned.
"So the company is lying."
"Or..."
Kai continued.
"It doesn't actually exist."
Silence settled over the office.
Sienna slowly closed the file.
"Continue."
Kai nodded.
"The registered office?"
He pulled out a photograph.
"It isn't an office."
She studied the picture.
A small warehouse.
Abandoned.
Windows boarded up.
Rust covered the metal shutters.
"No one works there."
Kai said quietly.
"I went myself this morning."
Sienna looked at him.
"You went there?"
"I wanted to see it with my own eyes."
"And?"
"A security guard from the neighboring building told me no one's entered that warehouse in almost a year."
Another piece clicked into place.
A fake company.
A fake address.
Yet somehow...
The proposal had reached De Luca Holdings through official channels.
Someone inside the system had approved it.
Someone...
Wanted Falcon Freight to be accepted.
...
At that very moment...
Three floors below...
Daniel nervously stood outside Adrian's office.
His palms were damp with sweat.
He knocked twice.
"Come in."
Adrian didn't even look up from the documents spread across his desk.
"What is it?"
Daniel hesitated.
"They're investigating Falcon Freight."
The room fell silent.
Only the ticking of the wall clock could be heard.
Finally...
Adrian looked up.
"Who?"
"Sienna."
"And Kai."
"They've already visited the registered address."
Adrian leaned back in his chair.
Instead of looking worried...
He smiled.
"They're faster than I expected."
Daniel stared.
"Aren't you concerned?"
"No."
"But..."
"They'll eventually trace the shell companies."
Adrian calmly folded his hands.
"Let them."
Daniel frowned.
"I don't understand."
"That's because you're thinking one move ahead."
"I've already planned ten."
He stood and walked toward the window.
"The shell companies lead nowhere."
"The legal firm reveals nothing."
"The financial records are clean."
He looked back at Daniel.
"They'll waste weeks chasing ghosts."
"And while they're distracted..."
"They won't notice what's happening inside their own company."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"There...there's another plan?"
Adrian simply smiled.
...
Back upstairs...
Zara rushed into Sienna's office without knocking.
"You need to see this."
She held up her tablet.
An email.
Anonymous.
No sender.
No signature.
Only one sentence.
**Stop investigating Falcon Freight if you value your career.**
Kai immediately stood.
"What?"
Sienna took the tablet.
She read the message twice.
Then handed it back.
"Interesting."
Zara blinked.
"Interesting?"
"Someone just confirmed we're looking in the right direction."
Kai folded his arms.
"Should we inform Cybersecurity?"
"Yes."
"And IT."
"They need to trace where it came from."
Zara nodded and hurried back out.
Kai looked at Sienna carefully.
"You don't seem surprised."
"I expected resistance."
"But not this soon."
She looked once more at the Falcon Freight proposal.
Then quietly said,
"We're getting close."
Neither of them realized...
Someone across the hallway had been watching through the partially open blinds.
The moment Kai left the office...
The figure walked away.
Phone already in hand.
"Sir."
A calm voice answered.
"Report."
"They're not stopping."
There was a brief pause.
Then Adrian replied,
"I didn't expect them to."
His smile slowly returned.
"Prepare Phase Two."
"What about Miss De Luca?"
Adrian looked out over the city skyline.
"This time..."
"I want her to make the mistake herself."
Outside...
Thunder rolled across Milan once again.
The storm hanging over De Luca Holdings was no longer just about business.
It had become personal.
______
The anonymous email spread through the Executive Department faster than Sienna had expected.
Within an hour, the company's cybersecurity team had begun tracing its origin.
Unfortunately...
Whoever had sent it knew what they were doing.
"It bounced through six different servers."
The head of Cybersecurity adjusted his glasses as several monitors displayed lines of code.
"Then it disappeared."
Kai frowned.
"So we have nothing?"
"We have..."
The technician hesitated.
"...almost nothing."
"What does that mean?"
"It was sent from inside Milan."
"But beyond that..."
"The sender covered every track."
Sienna closed the report.
"Thank you."
After the technicians left, Kai sighed.
"This person is careful."
"They planned this."
Sienna nodded.
"They expected us to investigate."
"And they expected we'd try tracing the email."
Kai looked at her.
"So what now?"
She stood.
"We stop chasing the email."
Kai blinked.
"What?"
"The email is a distraction."
"The company is our real target."
...
That afternoon...
Sienna, Kai and Zara gathered inside the strategy room.
Stacks of files covered the conference table.
Photographs.
Financial reports.
Corporate registrations.
Shipping manifests.
Everything related to Falcon Freight.
Zara rubbed her temples.
"I've been staring at these documents for three hours."
"My eyes hurt."
Kai smiled.
"Take a break."
"You've earned one."
"I'll get coffee."
She stood and stretched dramatically.
"If I don't come back..."
"Tell everyone I died doing paperwork."
Kai laughed.
"I'll make sure it's written on your gravestone."
She rolled her eyes before leaving.
Silence returned.
Kai flipped through another file.
Then suddenly...
He stopped.
"Sienna."
She looked up.
"What?"
"I think I found something."
He slid a shipping invoice across the table.
"Look at the destination."
She scanned the document.
France.
Nothing unusual.
Then...
Her eyes moved to the signature.
Her expression changed.
"This signature..."
Kai nodded.
"I've seen it before."
"So have I."
She immediately opened another folder.
A contract from almost a year earlier.
Different company.
Different project.
Same signature.
Same handwriting.
But...
Under a different name.
Kai looked at her.
"Someone's been creating fake companies for a long time."
"And reusing the same paperwork."
Sienna slowly leaned back.
"This wasn't created just for us."
"No."
"It started long before Rome."
Long before Alex.
Long before the photographs.
Whoever was behind Falcon Freight...
Had been planning something for months.
Maybe even years.
...
Meanwhile...
Adrian stood inside a luxurious restaurant overlooking the city.
Across from him sat an elegantly dressed man in his sixties.
One of De Luca Holdings' largest shareholders.
"I've heard the rumors."
The shareholder took a sip of wine.
"About Lorenzo's daughter."
Adrian smiled politely.
"Rumors often grow larger than reality."
"They do."
"But investors become nervous."
The older man studied Adrian.
"You've always struck me as reliable."
Adrian lowered his eyes modestly.
"I simply do my job."
"If the board ever needed stronger leadership..."
The man paused.
"...would you accept greater responsibility?"
Adrian answered carefully.
"I serve wherever the company needs me."
The shareholder smiled.
"A wise answer."
Neither man noticed...
A waiter quietly placing dessert nearby had lingered just a second too long.
Long enough...
To hear everything.
...
Back at De Luca Holdings...
Evening slowly settled over the city.
Most employees had already gone home.
Only a handful of lights remained on across the executive floor.
Kai yawned.
"We've been here since seven this morning."
"You should go home."
"So should you."
"I will."
"You said that two hours ago."
She smiled faintly.
"I know."
Kai gathered his things.
"Promise me something."
"What?"
"If you find anything important..."
"You'll call."
"I promise."
He nodded.
Satisfied.
After he left...
Silence filled the office once again.
Sienna picked up the two contracts.
She placed them side by side.
Same formatting.
Same legal language.
Same signature.
Different names.
Whoever forged these documents...
Had made one mistake.
A very small one.
But enough.
Her office phone suddenly rang.
She answered.
"Sienna speaking."
"Miss De Luca."
It was the receptionist downstairs.
"There's someone here asking to see you."
"I don't have any appointments."
"I know."
"He said..."
The receptionist hesitated.
"...he has information about Falcon Freight."
Sienna sat up straighter.
"Who is he?"
"He wouldn't give his name."
"He only said..."
"...that if you want the truth..."
"...you should come alone."
The line went quiet.
Sienna looked toward the dark window beside her desk.
Her instincts told her not to go.
But another voice inside her whispered...
This might be the break she'd been looking for.
She reached for her coat.
Unaware...
That in another part of the city...
Adrian received a single text message.
**The bait has been taken.**
He smiled.
Then quietly replied with two words.
**Proceed carefully.**
Far below the glowing city lights...
Someone waited.
And for the first time since this game had begun...
Sienna was about to walk directly into her opponent's plan.
- Writer
