Chapter 14 - The Enemy InsideBy evening, security had narrowed the internal breach to seventeen employees.
Executives.
Assistants.
Maintenance supervisors.
IT administrators.
People with enough access to reach my floor without attracting immediate attention.
Parker joined me inside the private conference room.
“This isn't random,” he said, studying the security logs.
“I know.”
“Whoever did this understands Sterling's internal systems.”
Rebecca entered carrying a tablet.
“We found another anomaly.”
She placed it in front of me.
Someone had accessed Sterling Global's sealed corporate archives six times during the previous month.
Every access occurred between 2:00 and 4:00 AM.
The account belonged to a senior vice president named Jonathan Mercer.
There was only one problem.
Jonathan Mercer had died eleven months earlier.
Parker stared at the screen.
“Well, that's inconvenient.”
“Someone cloned his credentials.”
“And used a dead executive because nobody would notice his account activity.”
I leaned back.
“What files were accessed?”
Rebecca swallowed.
“The original Sterling & Vale incorporation documents.”
Silence.
“And?”
“The private trust records.”
My expression hardened.
“Which trusts?”
She hesitated.
“Yours.”
That changed the situation entirely.
Someone wasn't merely investigating my father.
They were investigating me.
And Aria.
My phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Aria sleeping peacefully in her stroller earlier that afternoon while my mother walked beside her through the private gardens of our estate.
Underneath was a message.
YOUR FATHER STOLE AN EMPIRE.
Another message appeared.
I'M HERE TO TAKE IT BACK.
My blood turned to ice.
May you like
Then a third message arrived.
STARTING WITH HIS HEIR.
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