Chapter 2 - The Stolen Ledger
Harper stared at the brass key in Roman’s hand, her blood turning to absolute ice.
She recognized the distinct scratch on the metal bow immediately.
It was the key that opened the locked filing cabinet inside her private office.
"That is not my apartment key," Harper whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the engine.
Roman stopped turning the key and looked at her, his dark eyes sharpening with sudden intensity.
"Derek just handed you the key to my accounting office," Harper explained, panic rising in her chest.
Roman’s jaw tightened, his expression hardening into a terrifying mask of calculation.
"Derek deliberately gave me a decoy to buy himself time," Roman muttered, his voice dropping an octave.
He tapped on the glass partition dividing the cabin from the driver.
"Turn the car around," Roman commanded the driver sharply. "We are going to her office."
The heavy town car violently swerved across three lanes of traffic, making an illegal U-turn in the middle of the busy intersection.
Harper gripped the leather armrest to brace herself, her mind spinning completely out of control.
"Why would Derek need time to get into my office?" she asked frantically.
"Because he is stealing millions of dollars from his employer, and he used your firm’s servers to hide the money," Roman revealed smoothly.
Harper gasped, the horrifying truth suddenly clicking into place.
Derek had insisted she manage a specific portfolio for a vague shell company three months ago.
She had blindly trusted him, executing the massive wire transfers without questioning the source of the funds.
Derek had set her up to take the fall for massive corporate embezzlement.
"He is going to your office right now to wipe the servers and leave all the digital evidence pointing directly to you," Roman explained grimly.
Harper felt completely sick to her stomach, realizing her entire career and freedom were currently on the line.
The town car screeched to a halt in the dark alley behind the towering glass accounting firm.
Roman ordered his two massive guards to secure the lobby while he led Harper toward the private service elevator.
They rode up to the fourteenth floor in absolute silence, the tension in the small space suffocating them.
The elevator doors slid open into the dark, quiet hallway of the executive suites.
Harper swiped her security badge, and they moved silently down the corridor toward her corner office.
The heavy oak door was already slightly ajar, a faint blue glow emanating from inside the room.
Roman drew a sleek, suppressed pistol from his shoulder holster and signaled for Harper to stay behind him.
He kicked the door fully open, aiming the weapon directly into the center of the office.
The room was completely empty.
Harper rushed over to her desk, her heart dropping into her stomach.
The locked filing cabinet had been violently pried open with a crowbar, and the secure external hard drive was completely gone.
Derek had successfully stolen the only copy of the financial ledgers that could prove her innocence.
Roman lowered his weapon, his eyes scanning the ruined office with cold precision.
May you like
He suddenly noticed a small, blinking red light attached to the underside of Harper's desk chair.
Roman lunged across the room, tackling Harper forcefully to the floor just as a massive explosion ripped through the office walls.
