<188 The Price Of Loyalty
The auditor wants a video call. She sent an invite to my inbox.”
I nodded. “Alright.”
+8 Points>
She thanked Mary and hung up, already pulling her laptop closer. A few clicks later, the screen lit up, and a woman appeared. She looked polished and serious, probably in her late forties. Dark hair, Driftwake features. She didn’t waste time.
“Good afternoon, Alpha Nighthorn. Luna Mara,” she greeted.
“Good afternoon,” I said. “You are?”
“Alice McBride,” she replied with a practiced smile. “I’m lead auditor for Grayson & Marks.”
I nodded, bracing myself.
“We’ve completed our review,” she said. “There are… severe discrepancies. The most critical involve transactions with Winston’s Corp.”
That name alone set off alarms in my head.
“Steel Corp is missing two hundred and ninety-six million,” she continued. “There’s nearly a billion in unpaid loans and wages. And three of your corporate accounts have been drained by anonymous withdrawals over the last five years-
amounting to over six billion.”
My chest tightened.
“If this pattern continues, Alpha… Steel Corp will be bankrupt in less than a year.”
A long silence passed.
“Can you come to the Nighthorn Mansion?” I asked her. “We need to go over this with my father. Mara and I only took over
recently.”
She nodded. “I’ll be there shortly.”
The call ended. For a few moments, neither of us moved.
Mara was the first to speak. “Lucian… what do we do?”
I couldn’t answer right away. Six billion gone. Two hundred and ninety-six million vanished. A billion in unpaid obligations. What the hell had they been doing all this time?
“I need to know how much of that Martha stole,” I finally said and got up.
Mara stood, her expression tight. “Where are you going?”
“To confront her.”
She reached for my arm. “Lucian, wait-give her a moment.”
I pulled away gently. “We’re past that. While she’s sulking, someone’s still bleeding us dry. I need answers now, Mara. Before this whole thing sinks.”
“Fine,” Mara said, her voice like steel wrapped in silk. “Then we arrest Daniel Northwood and every board member of Winston’s Corp. We hold them until we sort this out. The auditor traced most of our losses back to Winston’s. And Chase
is on their board. This might be how we get to the bastard. Someone in that circle knows where he is.”
She wasn’t just being logical-she was being ruthless, and she was right.
I opened a link to Denis, needing him to move now, before I went to question Martha.
“Denis,” I linked.
2/3
TOO FRETTIGE VULDYRITY
49 Pouds
“Good afternoon, Lucian,” he replied, voice warm with sarcasm. “Thought you’d forgotten I was still in the mansion.”
I almost laughed. Almost.
“Sorry. Breakfast was… dramatic. Heated. But it’s done now.”
“I figured. With everything we dug up on the trip, it was bound to explode-especially when you confronted your father. I’m just glad it’s over.”
“Yeah. Me too,” I said. But it wasn’t really over. Not even close.
“I need you to arrest Daniel Northwood and the entire Winston’s Corp board. Theft charges. Offer them a deal-give us Chase Nighthorn, and maybe we ease the terms.”
There was a pause. A long one.
“Lucian… are you sure? We agreed to watch, not act. This is a big step.”
“I know,” I said, trying to rein in my frustration. “But we can’t sit back anymore. Steel Corp is bleeding money, and someone’s draining our accounts. I don’t know if Winston’s is behind it, but I need them neutralised-fast. Their arrest might stall whatever’s happening. Buy us time.”
“Understood, Alpha,” Denis said, his tone shifting from cautious to resolute. “I’ll go straight to HQ and get the warrants ready. I’ll need the full list of names and addresses-want to hit them all at once. I’ll reach out to Rowan for it.”
“Good. We won’t get to Chase himself-he’s tucked away in Mistwood. But hopefully, the rest of the board didn’t bother hiding. And maybe one of them’s ready to talk.”
I ended the link.
Time was running out-and we’d just fired the first shot.
