The office was quiet-too quiet. The hum of the air conditioning was the only sound in the otherwise sterile space as Emma Hayes scrolled through the company's financial reports. She'd been assigned the task of organizing files for the upcoming board meeting-a routine job she had done a thousand times before. But today was different. Her eyes would come back today to the same figures, the same discrepancies that had kept tugging at the back of her mind.
She adjusted her glasses and leaned closer to the screen, peering at the numbers. Arcadia's financials were usually flawless, scrupulously organized, and rigorously vetted. But as she flicked through columns of data, something stood out like a red flag: a series of small, unexplained transfers. Not huge sums, but enough to raise suspicion. Funds moving between accounts with little to no explanation. She scrolled further, and her stomach twisted. More of the same.
It wasn't a single anomaly; there were several.
Apparent also was the fact that the transfers did not feature under the list of standard expenses or operational costs. They were tucked away under what appeared to be ambiguous headings: "miscellaneous," "contingency funds," "reserve accounts." The amounts differed, but if Emma's instincts were right, these were not normal transactions. The pattern was too precise to be an accident, too deliberate to be a mistake.
She closed the file and took a deep breath. It was an oversight she could have passed off as a mistake made by whoever prepared the reports in the first place. But Emma's gut told her this was something much bigger, much deeper, and dangerous. She felt her skin crawl as it crossed her mind to just let it go. It wasn't a mistake, but a financial trail not intended to be unraveled. Someone inside Arcadia was stealing from the company.
It gnawed at her, and she couldn't let go of the thought. She needed to know more. Emma knew better than to act without evidence, but this was a lead she could ill afford to ignore.
She got to her feet, determined to talk to someone about it, to ask questions, but she stopped herself. Her mind went back to the cryptic message she had found in Adrian Cross's office, the warning: "Trust no one." A shiver ran down her spine. Who could she trust?
The answer came to her almost immediately: Adrian Cross. Despite the cold and distant persona he projected, he was the one who held the keys to the kingdom. If anyone had the answers, it was him. But how could she bring it up without sounding paranoid? How could she make him understand that something was wrong without being labeled as an alarmist?
She paced the small cubicle that had been her temporary office for the last few months, her mind racing. Long enough at Arcadia to know being right didn't always count. People didn't like to hear about problems unless they were ready to do something about them.
"Just be careful," she muttered to herself.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, breaking her train of thought. She looked at the screen. A message from Lucy.
Lucy: "Em, I heard something. They're talking about you. Be careful. I don't know who can be trusted anymore."
Emma's heart skipped a beat. What did Lucy mean? Was it the same "they" from before? The ominous warning? She didn't have time to analyze it now. She had to act.
She straightened up and walked out of the cubicle, her steps purposeful. As she approached the elevator, she felt a pang of doubt. She had no idea what kind of reaction Adrian might have to her discovery. Would he dismiss it as nothing? Would he get angry? Or worse, would he accuse her of digging too deep?
The doors opened onto the elevator, and Emma stepped in, jabbing her finger against the button for the top floor-the executive level. It felt wrong, like a line she was crossing without earning the right to do so, but she couldn't deny the churning in her gut. She had to know. For herself, for the company, for the sake of justice.
The elevator rose slowly, the floors ticking by, until the doors opened on the top floor. Emma's pulse raced as she stepped out onto the floor. She was about to walk into the office of a CEO, the very heart of a machine and a place where the real power in Arcadia resided. Adrian Cross's domain.
Emma hesitated outside his office but just for a moment. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Adrian sat behind his desk; his sharp gaze was fixed on her already, though it wasn't surprising since this was the way things went anytime she came into his sight. He didn't say hello. He never did. His presence alone filled up the room, commanded all attention, and often just required no words.
"Emma," he said coolly. "What's this about?"
She was taken aback by the directness of his tone. How did he know she had come here to speak with him? Was he watching her? Was she just another cog in his machine?
"I—I've been going through some files," she began, her voice wavering slightly. "There's something strange in the financial reports. A series of discrepancies in the accounts."
Adrian's eyes flickered for a split second-just long enough for Emma to catch it-but then his expression hardened. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the surface of his desk.
"I see," he said, his voice cool and detached. "What exactly did you find?"
Emma's heart was racing as she laid out the details: the unaccounted transfers, the weird ledger categories. As she spoke, Adrian's eyes narrowed, his gaze intense, but he didn't interrupt. He didn't ask questions or offer suggestions; he just listened.
When she finished, there was a long silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was charged with an unspoken weight.
"You're sure of this?" Adrian asked finally, his voice low.
Emma nodded. "Yes. There's something wrong, Mr. Cross. Someone inside the company is diverting funds. I don't know who, but it's happening."
For a long moment, Adrian said nothing. Then, his lips tightened, and he straightened in his chair, his eyes locking onto hers with a piercing intensity.
"You mustn't speak to anyone about this," he said sharply. The sudden change in his demeanor made Emma flinch, but she didn't back down. "Not a word. Do you understand?"
Emma's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't sure if the command was out of concern for her safety or a calculated move to protect himself. But the urgency in his tone left no room for argument.
"I understand," she said softly, despite the turmoil of questions in her mind.
Adrian's face softened by just a fraction. "Good. And Emma," he said again, this time his voice a little lower, but no less resolute. "I am placing you directly under my supervision for the time being. You shall be working this from the inside. No one else is to know."
Emma blinked, momentarily taken aback. "Under you?" she asked, trying to decipher his words.
"Yes," he said simply. "You will have access to the files you want. I will see it that way. But let me remind you, I trust you to handle this in silence. There is much at stake."
For a moment, Adrian's eyes darkened, and Emma wondered if the shadows that clouded his gaze had anything to do with the secrets he was so desperately trying to keep hidden. She had no idea what she was getting into, but she knew one thing for sure: the stakes were higher than she ever imagined.
"I won't let you down," she said, the words coming out more firmly than she meant.
Adrian gave a sharp nod. "I trust you, Emma. Don't prove me wrong."
As Emma turned to leave his office, her mind was a whirlwind of questions: What was Adrian hiding? What did he mean by "too much at stake"? She had a feeling that she just stepped deeper into something far more dangerous than she had anticipated. But there was no turning back now.
The shadows in the system were closing in, and Emma was about to walk right into them.