The more I found out, the darker it got.
What began as an accident—that is, finding out the truth—spun into something vastly more insidious. Nathaniel's secret wasn't just some small piece of corporate mischief but rather the tip of the iceberg: deceit, corruption, and connections to a world to which I did not want to belong.
To the outside world, Sterling Enterprises was a well-oiled machine, all bright and shiny, showing success and power. The deeper inside one would get, the more realization nagged—it was an absolute farce to cover up the underbelly that was festering with illegal deals, blackmail, and dangerous associations from some shadowy figure.
And Nathaniel? He wasn't being blackmailed; he was much, much more at risk than I had imagined.
I couldn't catch my breath. I wanted to know more, but it seemed that the more I knew, the more I was getting stuck in quicksand.
I did some Googling on the names that were unknown from the file, nothing big, just a check online if this linked back to Sterling. However, the deeper I went, it seemed I kept hitting lots of dead ends, pretty carefully hidden behind layers of shell companies and false fronts. Whoever was behind this, they were pros at covering their tracks.
Yet it was like a fire which I couldn't douse. Every moment of spare time was spent in reading documents, delving through corporate history, and chasing up connections that were sometimes so tenuous as to be verging on the ridiculous.
Yet still I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for any more. I just knew that if I stopped, I'd be caught in that web of Nathaniel's weaving, good and proper.
I sat that afternoon at my desk and tried to focus on whatever it was in front of me. The only problem: my mind would not let go. It raked through the mystery, trying to piece the puzzle together.
'Hey, Peace,' Lucas's voice broke through my reverie. 'You alright?
I catch myself reaching and quickly blink, closing the tab open on my computer. "Oh, yeah, fine. Why?
He cocked his head to the side, giving me that furrowed look he'd been showing me since I started acting squirrelly. "You just seem.off lately. And I don't blame you. Working for Nathaniel can be stressful, but if you ever need someone to vent to-
"I'm fine, really," I said, smiling back at him. "Just adjusting to everything."
Lucas didn't look reassured. "Okay. But if something's bothering you, you know I'm trustworthy, right?
Trust. It's a word that means nothing now, anyway. "Thanks, Lucas. I appreciate it."
He nodded once and then just stood a little longer before turning to head back toward his office. I watched him as he did, wondering if I was overreacting or not. Lucas was nice-really nice. But could I really trust anyone in this company? The further I got with my search, the grumpier and more paranoid I became.
---
A couple nights later, here I was at work. Alone. He claims Nathaniel had to take off early today, and that I had to type up these reports. There's but one sound that makes the silence scream - the hum of the city through the window.
I rubbed my eyes, finally feeling exhaustion catch up with me after days of searching without rest.
And then, with a soft beep, I heard my computer. Finally, I looked up to see an email but not from anyone familiar. The subject line made my heart freeze in my chest: We know what you are doing. My heart stopped. I opened it with shaking hands. Inside there was a line or two : *Cease digging or face the consequences. I leaned back in my computer chair, my blood running cold. *Who is this? How does he know what I am doing?* This all of a sudden made the office feel all too quiet, all too empty. My instincts told me to try and get out of here now before something terrible occurred.
I immediately shut my system down, grabbed my bag, and sprinted towards the lift. I knew nobody was around me, but felt that eyes watched me from every stretched shadow, every movement in front of me; every creak of the floor jacked up my heartbeat.
It wasn't until I got outside that the cool night air cooled my skin, even though my nerves didn't calm in the least bit. Clutching my jacket into my body tightly, I tried to shake off an utterly illogical unnerving feeling of being watched. --- After days, I finally had to research. I had to find out who was behind sending them. I was just going to get by this if I had some kind of clue. I managed to find the partial Sterling financial statements, but I had no idea what was coming next.
Directly connected with Nathaniel's offshore accounts was the direct payment to an arms dealer with known connections with the organization that I had uncovered.
The name jumped out at me from the page like some flashing red warning light. My breath caught. *This isn't business. This is something darker, deadlier. The power in the office bucked and then went dead before I could even wrap my head around what that might even mean.
The entire floor was plunged into darkness, my computer screen going black; the quiet hum of the building's electronics silenced. Then I heard footsteps behind me.
I turned around slowly, my heart pounding fast, only to find a figure standing in the shadows. "I warned you," the voice growled. "You should've stopped digging." I barely had time to react before the figure sprang into an attack.