Chapter 3: Smoke and Mirrors
951 Words
The first call came just after 11:00 p.m. Mandla.
Zanele stared at the screen, watched it buzz in silence on the coffee table. She didn’t move. The second call came minutes later. Then a message: “Where are you? Can we talk? Please.”
She turned off the screen.
By midnight, she was behind the wheel of her car, driving through Johannesburg’s empty streets. The city slept while her heart warred between fury and resolve. Her headlights cut through the misty hush of night, bouncing off shopfronts and billboards that once carried her firm’s brand. Moyo & Partners – Legal With Backbone.
She exhaled. One tear slid down her cheek. Only one.
She caught her reflection in the rearview mirror—flawless makeup, straight spine, cold fire in her eyes.
"Don’t fall apart now," she whispered to herself. "You’re not broken. You’re the storm."
She tightened her grip on the wheel.
“Turn the sour lemons into bloody champagne if you have to. But don’t fall.”
By the time she reached her office, the street was silent, the building dark save for the security lights that recognized her fingerprint on entry. She stepped into the lobby, heels echoing like a war drum.
At her desk, she flipped open her laptop and began working.
Not reacting.
Not crying.
Plotting.
---
By dawn, blinds half-drawn and the city shifting from dream to bustle, her inbox lit up.
Sipho’s encrypted reply had landed at 3:14 a.m.:
“All traced. Transfers happened over a period of 11 weeks. Hidden under vendor service lines. Kay registered two offshore accounts. I’ve archived everything. Let me know when to trigger the board alert.”
It was worse than she thought. Better, too. It meant she had them.
A knock interrupted her flow. Lwazi, her paralegal, peeked in with her usual nervous smile.
“Ma’am… he’s here. Thami.”
Zanele’s pulse jumped, but she didn’t show it. “Send him in.”
Thami walked in wearing a charcoal suit, no tie, a sly glint in his eye that irritated and intrigued her in equal measure.
“Always the early bird,” he said, settling across from her.
“Always the woman with a plan,” she replied. “What do you want today?”
He leaned back. “To know how far you’re willing to take this.”
Zanele folded her arms. “All the way.”
He nodded. “Good. Because I might’ve found your first domino. Kay didn’t just manipulate the internal systems. She used her sister’s account to channel funds into a dummy marketing firm that billed your company for ‘brand strategy’ you never ordered. Want the invoices?”
Zanele stared at him. “How did you even get this?”
Thami smiled faintly. “The same way you used to get trade secrets in your litigation days. People like to talk when you ask the right way.”
She drummed her fingers against the desk. “And what do you want in return for all this goodwill?”
“Access to your next board meeting. Observation only. I want to see the empire you’re about to reclaim.”
Zanele gave him a long, hard look. “You’re not just watching. You’re playing.”
“I never said I wasn’t.”
She considered this. Then, slowly, nodded. “Fine. But stay out of my spotlight.”
Thami raised his hands in mock surrender. “Wouldn’t dare.”
---
At noon, she called an emergency executive session.
Most of the board members were confused, a few annoyed. Mandla showed up late, Kay trailing behind him, both slightly breathless. Zanele noted Kay’s lipstick smudged just enough to confirm what she already knew.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Zanele began, rising with the calm of a queen at coronation. “What I’m about to present directly impacts the firm’s financial integrity, and your continued confidence in its leadership.”
She inserted the flash drive into the boardroom monitor. Her voice remained cool. Steady.
“Over the past three months, a series of unauthorized financial movements have been executed, designed to reroute firm assets into non-disclosed entities. These actions were hidden under misreported expenditures and shadow vendors. The parties responsible include an internal executive and a member of our admin staff.”
Kay shifted visibly. Mandla stared straight ahead, trying not to blink.
Zanele clicked, and the audio played.
Kay’s voice: “Once we move those shares through the MJ line, Zanele won’t even know they’re gone.”
Mandla: “She always wanted to build an empire. I just don’t want to be the brick she steps on.”
Laughter. Then silence.
Zanele paused the recording.
The room was ice.
“I’ve reported this to our compliance division. Legal action is pending. I am placing both implicated parties on immediate suspension pending an internal investigation. If any board member objects, now is your moment.”
No one spoke.
Zanele turned to Mandla. “You are no longer fit to serve as co-chair of the firm. Step down now, or I’ll motion for forced removal.”
Mandla opened his mouth. Closed it.
He stood. “I need to speak to you. Alone.”
Zanele didn’t flinch. “You don’t speak to me. Not anymore.”
He looked around the room, but no one met his gaze. He walked out.
Kay followed a beat later, face pale.
Zanele turned back to the board. “Meeting adjourned.”
---
In her office, Zanele allowed herself one exhale. One.
Then she looked at the city through the glass.
Thami was right. She hadn’t just built an empire.
She’d become it.
And it was time to rule accordingly.
- Writer
