RISE OF AN ESTRANGED TRILLIONAIRE SON

Chapter9

By Monday morning, the glamour of Emily’s birthday gala was gone, leaving behind the reality that dawned on them. ReedTech security showed up before sunrise. They changed the locks on Harris Industries’ executive suite like it was nothing. Veronica Harris’s gold nameplate came off her corner office door.

Her calls started before breakfast, angry, urgent, dripping with venom, but no one picked up. The board members she thought were hers had already cut their deals, signed their NDAs, taken their severance, and disappeared. Some retired early. Some moved to ReedTech posts far away from Seattle. All of them were gone.

Still, Veronica wasn’t the type to accept defeat. Stuck inside her mansion that felt more like a cage, as ReedTech security parked discreetly outside, she began plotting her counterattack.

Days later, leaks appeared in the press. It began gradually before blowing up into a full story. Adrian Carter-Reed was painted as a bitter opportunist, out for revenge on the family that “took him in.” it also hinted that Jonathan Reed hadn’t been in his right mind when he made Adrian his heir. Veronica tried everything in her power to tarnish his image and thereby gradually wreck ReedTech.

Adrian seemed calm amidst it all. His legal and PR teams handled it all. The rumors were smothered with lawsuits. He didn’t need to speak to Veronica, or respond. He wasn’t going to give her the privilege of having the attention she was seeking. All he needed to do was ensure her noise only made sense in void.

Emily didn’t know where to stand in all of it. Her company was gone. Her mother was toxic. And her husband, the man she had all but ignored for two years, now ruled a glass empire she couldn’t even step into. The guilt felt heavy in her chest but she wished to have a moment to at least be understood.

She tried calling his old number. But of course it was disconnected. She then decided to take the bull by the horn and went to ReedTech headquarters. She stared at the sleek, glass tower that made the old Harris building look small. After making her presence known, the receptionist smiled politely and told her Mr. Carter-Reed was unavailable.

So she waited. She didn’t care how long. All she longed for was to be understood. Maybe if she explained that she was just as caged as he was, he would understand.

Hours passed in the icy lobby while employees swept by without a glance. As the evening dawned, Adrian appeared from the elevators, surrounded by two executives and a pair of bodyguards. He was reading something on a tablet, his voice low and sharp as he gave instructions.

“Adrian!”

Her voice cracked. Heads turned. He stopped walking and looked up. His eyes found her, but they didn’t soften.

“Ms. Harris,” he said, like he was greeting a stranger.

The name hit like a slap. Still, she stepped forward. “Adrian, please. Five minutes. Just talk to me.”

“My schedule is full, Ms. Harris. ReedTech business takes priority.” He moved to pass.

“It’s about the company! About what they’re saying about you, about Mother….”

Something colder flickered in his eyes. “The rumors are being handled. As for Veronica Harris… her actions speak for themselves. Excuse me.”

She reached for his arm. The security team was instantly between them. Her hands dropped from his arm as she stared at him hoping he would give her the five minutes she begged for. But Adrian didn’t look back. He kept walking as his executives followed behind till he got to his office and shut the glass doors. Emily was left standing in the empty lobby, staring at her reflection in the darkened glass.

While Emily stood frozen, Adrian’s real strike was already in motion. ReedTech’s internal investigations unit, who had experts at pulling apart even the most tangled finances, had been inside Harris Industries since day one. They weren’t just glancing at public ledgers. They were tearing the place apart from the inside, tracing every transfer, every invoice, every offshore account.

It didn’t take long. Within a week, the report landed on Adrian’s desk. And it wasn’t just sloppy bookkeeping. It was a fraud. Millions siphoned away over five years through fake contracts and phantom companies.

The name on the authorizing documents wasn’t Veronica Harris. It was Emily J. Harris.

Adrian stared at the page. The numbers blurred for a moment, replaced by the image of his mother’s face. Veronica wouldn’t have been stupid enough to sign anything herself. She had used her daughter’s position, her signature, and authority as a shield. The only question was whether Emily had been part of it, or was just another pawn.

He told the investigators to keep going, urging them to find strong proof and not just suspicions. He needed something that could tear the truth open without an argument.

Word of the audit reached the Harris mansion anyway. Panic replaced Veronica’s fury. She barked orders into the phone, lawyers squirming on the other end. She denied everything blaming it on accountants, enemies, Emily and even Adrian himself.

Emily sat on her bed lost in thoughts when the letter arrived. It was official, stamped with ReedTech’s seal. She was to appear before the internal audit team to discuss “certain financial authorizations.” There were some fraudulent activities that had unaccounted millions gone for, bearing her name and signature.

Emily felt her world crashing that minute. She was no fool and could rightly guess what mush have occurred. The reality dropped on her like ice water. Her mother hadn’t just destroyed the company. She’d set her up to take the fall. Anger filled her that instant as the dawned reality settled. She would be a fool to keep putting her mother first. It was time to rise up and defend her name, even if it meant implicating her mother who wouldn’t think twice of tarnishing her (Emily’s) image for her selfish gain.

On the other side of the city, Adrian had his own ghost to deal with. Jonathan’s personal archivist had sent over another file. A strange one in fact. It had been dug out of ancient backup tapes from his first office. Inside it was a digitized snippet from an answering machine. Adrian closed his office door and put on headphones.

The recording was scratchy. First came a young woman’s voice. He could sense the tension from her shaking voice that was trying to hold steady. “Veronica? This is Clara Carter. We need to talk. About Jonathan. About… the baby.”

There was a pause. Then a sharper, younger version of Veronica’s voice cut in, already dripping venom: “Listen to me, you little gold-digging w***e. Stay away from my husband. Stay away from this company. Stay away from this city, or you’ll regret it. I’ll bury you so deep you’ll wish you’d never been born.”

A short, choked sob. “You can’t…”

“Try me,” Veronica snapped. “Jonathan might be weak, but I’m not. Disappear.”

Adrian sat back in his chair more confused than ever, staring at nothing. Then he hit play again. And again. The tremor in his mother’s voice. The icy certainty in Veronica’s.

On the desk beside him sat the audit report with Emily’s name splashed across every damning page. Maybe she’d been a pawn. Maybe she’d been a willing partner. He didn’t know yet. But he knew one thing. Veronica Harris had more stain to her name than the world knew.