Chapter Three: The Man Behind the Glass
922 Words
Chapter Three:The Man Behind the Glass
The morning sun poured through the towering glass windows of Devereaux International, casting long streaks of light across the polished marble floor. Employees moved with practised urgency, heels clicking, phones ringing, printers humming. On the outside, the company looked untouchable.
Inside, everyone was nervous.
Lucien Devereaux had a reputation.
Not because he shouted.
Not because he humiliated people.
Because he didn't need to.
A single disappointed glance from him was enough to make seasoned executives question every decision they had ever made.
The conference room was silent as he stood before a digital screen displaying the company's quarterly performance.
"We lost thirty-two million dollars in one quarter," Lucien said calmly.
No one spoke.
His grey eyes swept across the room.
"I'll ask once."
He folded his hands behind his back.
"Who approved this investment?"
A man in his late fifties slowly stood.
"I... did."
Lucien studied him for a long moment.
"And what convinced you it was worth the risk?"
The man swallowed.
"The market projections looked promising."
"They were fabricated."
Silence.
"The signatures were forged."
Another silence.
"The reports you relied on never passed through the audit department."
Lucien walked toward him.
"If I discovered that in under an hour..."
He stopped beside the man.
"...why couldn't you?"
The executive lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, Mr Devereaux."
Lucien looked around the room.
"Apologies don't recover millions."
He pressed a button on the remote.
The presentation disappeared.
"Meeting dismissed."
The executives hurried out, relieved to have escaped with nothing worse than bruised pride.
Only Nathan remained.
"You knew the reports were fake before the meeting," Nathan said.
"I suspected."
"And now?"
Lucien looked out at the skyline.
"Someone inside this company is bleeding it dry."
Across the city, Aria sat on a weathered bench outside the public library.
A stack of newspapers rested beside her.
Most people thought she was searching for job advertisements.
She wasn't.
She was looking for patterns.
Ever since she had been framed, something had refused to leave her mind.
The articles published after her dismissal all seemed to protect the same powerful circle of people.
Different companies.
Different names.
The same outcome.
The truth disappeared.
She flipped another page.
Then paused.
A familiar company logo caught her eye.
Devereaux International Announces Expansion into International Markets.
She frowned.
There was nothing unusual about the article.
Still...
Something tugged at her memory.
She tore the page out carefully and slipped it into her folder.
By noon, Aria found herself at the hospital.
Liam sat on the examination bed, trying to joke with the nurse despite the tubes connected to his arm.
"I told you," he said with a grin, "I'm too handsome to stay sick."
The nurse laughed.
"You keep saying that."
"It's true."
Aria shook her head.
"Your confidence is concerning."
The doctor entered moments later.
His smile faded as he reviewed Liam's chart.
"Ms Bennett."
She immediately knew.
It wasn't good news.
"We need to discuss your brother's condition."
Outside the room, the doctor's voice was gentle.
"The medication is slowing the progression..."
He hesitated.
"...but it isn't enough anymore."
Aria's stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
"He'll need surgery."
The word echoed in her ears.
"Surgery?"
The doctor nodded.
"The sooner, the better."
She struggled to find her voice.
"How much?"
He mentioned the amount.
For a moment...
The hallway seemed to tilt beneath her feet.
It was more money than she had ever seen in her life.
"I'm sorry," the doctor said quietly.
"I thought you should know."
That evening, Lucien sat alone in his office.
Nathan entered carrying a thin brown file.
"You asked me to continue looking into Aria Bennett."
Lucien gestured for him to continue.
Nathan opened the file.
"She won two national journalism awards before everything fell apart."
Lucien listened without interruption.
"Everyone who worked with her says the same thing."
"What?"
"She never published a story she couldn't prove."
Lucien's fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
"And yet she was accused of fabricating evidence."
Nathan nodded.
"The case doesn't add up."
Lucien leaned back.
"Neither does mine."
Nathan frowned.
Lucien turned his computer monitor toward him.
A list of suspicious financial transfers filled the screen.
Millions of dollars.
Moved in tiny amounts.
Across dozens of shell companies.
Impossible to notice at first glance.
Unless someone knew where to look.
"The same week Aria was disgraced..."
Lucien said quietly,
"...these transfers began."
Nathan looked up.
"You think they're connected?"
"I don't believe in coincidences."
Rain began to fall again as Aria stepped out of the hospital.
She stood beneath the awning, staring at the city lights blurred by water.
How was she supposed to save her brother?
Every door had closed.
Every opportunity vanished the moment people heard her name.
For the first time in months...
She felt something she had refused to admit.
Fear.
Not for herself.
For Liam.
She whispered into the rain,
"I won't lose you."
The words disappeared into the night.
Unheard.
Except...
Across the street, a black sedan waited at a red light.
Behind the tinted window, Lucien happened to glance toward the hospital entrance.
For a brief second, he saw her.
The same woman who had saved a child.
The same journalist whose story refused to make sense.
The traffic light turned green.
The car drove on.
Neither of them realised that fate had already begun tightening its grip.
Soon, they would stop being strangers.
And when they did...
Nothing in either of their lives would remain the same.
- Writer
