BOUND TO THE BILLIONAIRE BY CONTRACT

THE FLASH DRIVE

Chapter 37 – The Flash Drive

A heavy silence filled the Rolls-Royce as it sped back toward Carter Manor.

Rain beat against the windows, but no one spoke.

The small black flash drive resting inside Ethan's jacket suddenly felt heavier than gold.

It contained answers.

Answers Victor Hayes had spent twelve years trying to hide.

---

Back at Carter Manor...

Daniel immediately activated the estate's highest security protocol.

Additional guards took up positions around the gates.

Every security camera was checked twice.

William noticed the unusual activity as he walked into the foyer.

"Ethan?"

"What happened?"

Ethan helped Olivia remove her rain-soaked coat before answering.

"We'll explain everything."

"But first..."

He looked at Daniel.

"No one enters this house without my permission."

Daniel nodded firmly.

"Already done, sir."

---

Inside Ethan's private study...

Only five people were present.

Ethan.

Olivia.

William.

Daniel.

Richard Collins.

The flash drive lay on the polished wooden desk.

Everyone stared at it.

Richard finally spoke.

"Should I call the IT department?"

Ethan shook his head.

"No."

"The fewer people who know about this..."

"...the better."

Daniel connected an encrypted laptop to the drive.

The screen remained black for several seconds.

Then...

A password prompt appeared.

Richard sighed.

"It's encrypted."

Daniel examined the screen carefully.

"Military-grade encryption."

"This wasn't created by an amateur."

Olivia looked worried.

"So we can't open it?"

Daniel smiled slightly.

"Give me a few minutes."

---

Across the city...

Victor Hayes sat quietly inside his office.

His assistant stood nearby.

"Our men searched Adrian's apartment."

Victor didn't look up.

"And?"

"It's empty."

"No clothes."

"No laptop."

"No phone."

Victor slowly smiled.

"So..."

"He planned his disappearance."

The assistant nodded.

"It appears so."

Victor stood and walked toward the window.

"Freeze every account connected to Adrian Brooks."

"Cancel every contract under his name."

"I want him cut off from everything."

The assistant hesitated.

"And if he contacts the authorities?"

Victor's expression remained cold.

"He won't."

"He knows exactly how dangerous this has become."

---

Back at Carter Manor...

Daniel's fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard.

Lines of encrypted code filled the screen.

After nearly twenty minutes...

A notification appeared.

ACCESS GRANTED

Everyone leaned forward.

"There."

Daniel clicked the first folder.

Its title read:

PROJECT PHOENIX

Inside were dozens of documents.

Financial records.

Company contracts.

Old emails.

Board meeting minutes.

Everything dated twelve years earlier.

Richard stared at the screen.

"This is incredible."

Ethan opened the first document.

It was the original partnership agreement between Phoenix Technologies.

Three signatures appeared at the bottom.

Charles Bennett.

Ethan Carter.

Victor Hayes.

Olivia looked at the old document.

"You really built it together."

Ethan nodded quietly.

"We did."

---

Daniel opened another folder.

This one contained hundreds of internal emails.

Most discussed investments, employees, and product development.

Then one message caught Ethan's attention.

It had been sent by Charles Bennett only three days before his death.

The subject line read:

URGENT – PRIVATE MEETING

Ethan opened it.

The message was short.

«Ethan,

I've discovered something involving Victor that cannot wait.

Meet me tomorrow morning before the board meeting.

Do not tell anyone.

— Charles»

The room fell silent.

Olivia slowly looked at Ethan.

"You never got that email..."

He shook his head.

"No."

"I've never seen it before."

Daniel checked the file details.

"It was deleted from your inbox."

Richard frowned.

"Someone erased it."

William's expression darkened.

"If Ethan had seen this..."

"...everything might have been different."

---

Just then...

Daniel opened another folder.

This one contained financial transfers.

Several large payments had been made from Phoenix Technologies to unknown companies.

Each payment had been approved...

Not by Ethan.

But by Victor Hayes.

Richard looked stunned.

"These shell companies..."

"They never existed."

Daniel nodded.

"The money disappeared."

Olivia looked at Ethan.

"So Charles Bennett was right."

"He discovered something."

Ethan's jaw tightened.

"And he was trying to warn me."

At that exact moment...

The lights inside the study flickered once.

Then twice.

The laptop screen suddenly went black.

Daniel immediately stood.

"What happened?"

Before anyone could answer...

Every security alarm inside Carter Manor began blaring at once.

INTRUDER ALERT.

INTRUDER ALERT.

Daniel reached for his earpiece.

A frightened guard's voice came through.

"Sir!"

"The security system has been hacked!"

"And someone..."

"...just shut down every exterior camera!"

The piercing alarm echoed throughout Carter Manor.

INTRUDER ALERT.

INTRUDER ALERT.

Daniel immediately pulled out his phone.

"Lock the estate down!"

"No one enters or leaves without my authorization!"

The head of security answered quickly.

"Yes, sir!"

Guards rushed toward every entrance while the estate's automatic steel gates slammed shut.

---

Inside the study, Ethan remained calm despite the chaos.

He turned to Olivia.

"Stay with Grandpa."

She shook her head.

"I'm not leaving you."

He gently took her hands.

"I need to know you're safe."

After a brief hesitation, she nodded.

"I'll stay."

William stood beside her protectively.

"Go."

"We'll be alright."

---

Daniel hurried to the security control room with Ethan close behind.

Technicians were frantically working to restore the surveillance system.

Every monitor displayed the same message.

SIGNAL LOST

Daniel frowned.

"This isn't a normal hack."

"They're trying to blind us."

One technician suddenly shouted,

"Sir!"

"I've restored Camera Seven!"

Everyone looked up.

The monitor flickered.

The image was blurry.

A hooded figure stood outside the estate fence.

Seconds later...

The person tossed a small black object over the wall.

Then disappeared into the darkness.

"What was that?" Ethan asked.

Daniel zoomed in.

"It's..."

"A flash drive."

---

Several guards carefully searched the gardens.

Within minutes, one of them returned carrying a sealed evidence bag.

Inside was the black flash drive.

Daniel frowned.

"They risked everything..."

"...just to throw this inside?"

Ethan looked thoughtful.

"No."

"They wanted us to find it."

---

Back in the study...

Daniel connected the second flash drive to another encrypted laptop.

Richard immediately objected.

"It could contain malware."

Daniel nodded.

"I've isolated the system."

"If it's infected..."

"It can't reach our network."

He inserted the drive.

A single video file appeared.

No password.

No documents.

Only one recording.

Ethan clicked play.

---

The screen slowly came to life.

A younger Victor Hayes appeared.

The video quality was poor, clearly recorded more than a decade earlier.

Victor looked directly into the camera.

"If you're watching this..."

"...then something has gone terribly wrong."

Everyone exchanged confused glances.

Victor continued.

"Charles Bennett believes I've been stealing from Phoenix Technologies."

"I haven't."

"He refuses to believe me."

"I think someone inside the company is trying to turn us against each other."

The recording suddenly ended.

Silence filled the room.

Olivia frowned.

"This doesn't make sense."

Daniel agreed.

"The financial records on the first flash drive show Victor approved the payments."

Richard nodded.

"But this video claims he's innocent."

Ethan stared at the blank screen.

"Someone wanted us confused."

"They're mixing truth with lies."

---

Just then...

Daniel received another message from the cybersecurity team.

"Sir..."

"We found the source of the attack."

Ethan looked up.

"Where?"

Daniel smiled.

"It wasn't Hayes International."

Everyone looked surprised.

"It came from an abandoned warehouse."

Richard frowned.

"So Victor didn't hack us?"

Daniel continued reading.

"No."

"But here's the interesting part..."

"The warehouse has been empty for five years."

Ethan slowly leaned back in his chair.

"Someone wanted us to believe Victor attacked us."

Olivia looked confused.

"You mean..."

"There's someone else?"

Ethan nodded.

"Someone manipulating both sides."

---

Across the city...

Victor Hayes stood in his office when his assistant rushed in.

"Sir!"

"Our servers have been hacked."

Victor turned sharply.

"What?"

"Someone copied confidential files and left a message."

Victor immediately opened his laptop.

On the screen appeared a single sentence.

THE TRUTH CANNOT STAY BURIED FOREVER.

Victor's face lost all color.

"No..."

His assistant looked alarmed.

"What is it?"

Victor whispered,

"This isn't Ethan."

"He doesn't know enough."

He slowly closed the laptop.

For the first time in twelve years...

Fear entered his eyes.

"There was another person."

The assistant frowned.

"Another person?"

Victor looked toward the rain-covered skyline.

"The only person who knew everything..."

"...was Charles Bennett."

He shook his head.

"But Charles is dead."

Lightning flashed across the sky.

Far away, inside Carter Manor, Ethan stared at the two flash drives lying side by side.

One blamed Victor.

The other defended him.

Someone...

Was carefully leading both Ethan and Victor toward the same forgotten truth.