Chapter 518

Chapter 518:

Stefan joined them, carrying a stack of printed documents. His jaw still showed a faint bruise from Alexander’s punch, but his focus remained entirely on the investigation. “Every suspicious transaction happened within seventy-two hours of Richard Pierce receiving specific pieces of information about Kane…”

“Internal memos about safety protocols. Financial projections for the industrial sector. Details about Kane Industries’ bidding strategies.” Stefan spread the documents on the side table. “Someone was feeding Richard Pierce inside knowledge about your company’s operations.”

Victoria studied the timeline Stefan had created, her expression growing darker with each connection. “This proves Richard wasn’t making independent business decisions. Someone was guiding his choices, probably encouraging him to take shortcuts that would make his bids more competitive.”

“And when those shortcuts led to the factory explosion,” Camille said quietly, “the same person made sure Richard blamed you instead of examining his own choices.”

Hannah pulled up another screen on her laptop. “But here’s the really interesting part. The person feeding information to Richard Pierce had access to Kane Industries’ internal systems fifteen years ago.”

Victoria went very still. “Internal access? You mean someone inside my company was working with Richard?”

“Or someone with legitimate access who was secretly working against you.” Stefan leaned forward, his voice intense with discovery. “Victoria, we need to know who had high-level access to Kane Industries’ financial and strategic information fifteen years ago.”

Victoria set down her teacup, her hands now steady as her mind shifted into analytical mode. “Fifteen years ago, Kane Industries was much smaller. High-level access was limited to maybe twenty people. Board members, senior executives, key department heads.”

𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝖘𝖊𝖈𝖚𝖗𝖊 𝖘𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖈𝖊: ⳑ𝗮𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝗍𝖊𝗅𝘀․𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Anyone who might have had a grudge against you?” Camille asked.

“Half the business world had grudges against me. I didn’t build this company by making friends.” Victoria’s smile was rueful. “But internal betrayal… that would have required someone I trusted completely.”

Hannah scrolled through more financial records. “The shell companies that received the stolen funds all trace back to a single point of origin. A management company called Whitfield Holdings.”

Victoria’s face went white. “Whitfield?”

“You recognize the name?” Stefan asked urgently.

“James Whitfield.” Victoria’s voice was barely a whisper. “He was Richard Pierce’s business partner before Meridian Technologies was founded. They started their company together, but James sold his share to Richard about six months before the factory project began.”

Camille felt ice in her veins. “He sold his share six months before the explosion?”

“I remember because James came to me after the sale. He said he was concerned about the direction Richard was taking the company, that Richard was cutting costs in ways that compromised safety.” Victoria’s hands were shaking again, but this time from memory rather than illness. “I thought he was just bitter about being bought out.”

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