Chapter 443

Chapter 443:

Victoria nodded, though her gaze remained fixed on his face. “And you’ve been looking specifically at the Meridian acquisition?”

Alexander’s blood turned to ice, but his voice remained steady. “Among others. Meridian was one of your first major tech acquisitions, wasn’t it? The foundation for what became your clean energy division.”

“Indeed.” Victoria gathered the reports on her desk, aligning their edges with precise movements. “I trust you’ve found the information useful?”

“Very much so. Your team’s approach to due diligence was thorough. Almost aggressive, one might say.”

The words hung in the air between them. Victoria’s hands stilled on the papers, and for a moment, Alexander saw something raw cross her face—surprise, perhaps, or recognition that he knew more than he was letting on.

“Business was different fifteen years ago,” she said finally. “More competitive. Less… regulated.”

“Of course. I understand completely.”

Victoria stood, moving to the window that overlooked Manhattan. “I’m glad we cleared that up. I was concerned that someone might be trying to dig up old business matters for malicious purposes.”

“I can’t imagine why anyone would do such a thing,” Alexander lied smoothly. “Kane Industries has always conducted business with the highest ethical standards.”

When Victoria turned back to face him, her smile was sharp as a knife’s edge. “Exactly. Which is why I’m confident this cybersecurity issue will resolve itself quickly.”

Alexander rose from his chair, recognizing the dismissal. “I’m sure it will. If there’s anything Pierce Enterprises can do to help…”

“Thank you, but no. This is an internal matter.”

As Alexander walked toward the door, Victoria’s voice stopped him.

ℓ𝖆𝓉𝑒𝓼𝓉 ¢һ𝖺ρ𝗍𝖊𝓇𝘀 ⳑ𝖆𝓁𝗇𝗈𝖛𝖊𝗅𝓈﹒ⅽ𝗈𝖒

“Alexander.”

He turned, his hand on the doorknob.

“Give my love to Camille. She’s been working so hard on the expansion. I worry she’s pushing herself too much.”

“I’ll make sure she gets some rest,” Alexander promised, the words tasting like ash in his mouth.

Back in his own office, Alexander locked the door and pulled the blinds shut. His hands shook as he opened his laptop and accessed the encrypted files “Guardian” had sent him the night before. The documents that had kept him awake until dawn, staring at evidence of Victoria’s true nature.

The first file was a copy of an internal Kane Industries memo, dated three weeks before his uncle’s suicide. Victoria’s signature was clear at the bottom, authorizing an investigation into Richard Pierce’s “potential ethical violations” regarding the Whitmore Factory incident.

Alexander scrolled down to read the details, his stomach churning with each word. A factory explosion at one of Meridian’s facilities had killed three workers and injured dozens more. The official investigation had cleared Meridian of wrongdoing, ruling the explosion an accident caused by faulty equipment from a third-party supplier.

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