The next morning, Aliana had breakfast earlier than usual. She was nning to slip out of the Pavilion to search for Rafe

    Although Gabriel had already deployed his men to track Rafe’s whereabouts, Aliana couldn’t just sit still and wait for news. The thought of Pale povelty being injured–or even in danger–made her restless.

    After finishing her breakfast, Aliana returned to her room to prepare. Just as she closed the door, her phone on the table began to vibrate. Rafe’s name appeared on the screen.

    Without hesitation, Aliana immediately answered.

    “Rafe?” Her voice was sharp, but there was ba /bclear hint of relief in bit/b.

    “Mydy… I apologize for only contacting you now.”

    Rafe’s voice was slightly hoarse on the other end of the line.

    Aliana frowned. “Where have you been all this time? Why haven’t I heard a word from youb?/bb” /b

    “I… I was unconscious these past few days, mydy.” Rafe paused briefly, taking a heavy breath. “I was badly injured after fighting Kestrel. Since then, I’ve been treated in a hospital. I only fully regained consciousnessst night.”

    Aliana gripped her phone tighter. “How’s your condition? Which hospital are you bin/b?”

    “I’m at a hospital on the outskirts of the city. You don’t have to worry, mydy, I’m already much better,” Rafe said firmly, though his voice was weak. “I’ve just learned about the scandal involving you. Forgive me for not being of help. I’ll leave the hospital bsoon/bb, /band if possible, let’s meet at the safehouse.”

    Aliana considered his request. She was worried Rafe might be forcing himself to leave the hospital earlier than he should.

    “There’s bno /bneed to rush if you still need treatment, Rafe. Focus on recovering bfully /bfirst.”

    “I already feel fine,” Rafe insisted, a little forcefully.

    Aliana paused to think. “Alright, let’s meetter this afternoon.”

    “Understood.b” /b

    “Oh, and what about Lucas?” Aliana suddenly remembered Lucasb, /bwho had been escorting Julian with Rafe.

    “He’s fine,” Rafe replied quickly. “He didn’t suffer any major injuries, just ba /bbcut /bon his arm. But… he’s shaken. Lucas mes himself for losing Julian. He’s been too afraid to contact anyone, even his father. All this time, he’s just been waiting for me to wake up.”

    Aliana let out a long breath, relief washing over her. “I’m d you’re both alive. Then, I’ll see youter this afternoon.”

    The call ended.

    Aliana set the phone back ion /ithe table, staring nkly ahead. Her feelings were conflicted–relieved that Rafe was alive, but also uneasy. If Rafe had been so gravely wounded by Kestrel, then that same man was most likely the one who killed Julian. Aliana was certain Kestrel was hiding something big, something important enough to silence Julian forever.

    Meanwhile, bat /bTitan Group, just ban /bhour before the weekly board meeting, Charlotte requested a private audience with Andrian. She didn’te alone- two legal staff and ba /bforensic financial analyst followed her.

    Charlotte brought with her a stack of evidence detailing Bianca’s misconduct. She deliberately chose not to expose this in front of the entire board, fearing that doing so might spark another public scandal. With Titan already shaken by Aliana’s scandal, Charlotte knew that airing Bianca’s corruption in open session would only deepen bthe /bchaos, perhaps even cause thepany’s bstock /bbto /bplummet further.

    07:18 Tue, 2 Sept

    Instead, she chose to present the evidence dire

    the evidence directly to Andrian. She wanted him to tes with his non eyes the truth shout

    adding unnecessary fuel to Titan’s already fragile state

    “Forgive me for intruding on your time, Mr. Andrian,” Charlotte said as the entered the CEO’s office.

    She offered a faint smile, hei gaze calm yet cold. Without preamble, she dered her purpose.

    b“/bThere’s something important I must tell you regarding Bianca.”

    Andrian, still reviewing a summary of media reports, looked at Charlotte with mild curiosity.

    “Go ahead,” he said.

    Charlotte signaled to her assistants, who stepped forward. Within moments, the legal staff and financial analyst produced a portable sale, opening i reveal an encrypted drive, several printed chat transcriptsb, /band sheets bof /banalysis stamped with timestamps from Titan’s ERP system.

    “All of this,” Charlotte said, cing the top document in front of Andrian, “is Bianca Lorraine’s financial trail. I’m here to tell you that she’s been deceiving

    you.”

    Andrian picked up a summary sheet of the cash flows: recurring payments from three logistics vendors funneled through two shell consulting firms- Aurum Consult and Lathis Partners–whichb, /bording to ownership charts, led back to ba /bcustodian ount under a third party’s name… band /bbfrom /bthere, circled back into Derek Vaughn’s personal ount and a small foundation tied to Bianca Lorraine.

    “Bianca has been receiving bribes for her own gain. Not only from a few directors, but also from several official vendors contracted with us.”

    Andrian’s jaw tightened. He hadn’t expected Bianca to be scheming behind his back.

    Seeing his silence, Charlotte continued.

    “This isn’t an isted transaction. It’s a pattern. Mark–ups averaging b18-23/b% on storage and shipping contracts, split into multiple POS to bypass your approval threshold. Every final authorization went through Bianca’s assistant–Derek Vaughn–under the signing authority she gave him.”

    Andrian clenched his fists. He inhaled deeply before finally speaking.

    “I’ll need to verify every detail of these documents.”

    Charlotte frowned, not expecting Andrian to doubt her. Still, she did not give up.

    “Beforeing ihere/i, I already had the legal team check a few things.” Charlotte flipped through the documents Andrian was reviewing. “I asked them to verify the login ess times Derek iused/i. There were two instances of Miss Bianca’s physical token being used–at 12:41 a.m. and 2:13 a.m., three months ago–in transactions of significant amounts.”

    Andrian closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the anger and sense of betrayal rising quickly inside him.

    “What do you want, Mrs. Charlotte?” Andrian asked in a low voice. He was certain Charlotte hadn’te just to deliver a report. She must have an agenda–especially since she came to meet him privately.

    Temporar

    “Good governancei,/i” Charlotte replied inly. “Temporary suspension of Bianca and Derek. ess freeze, seizure of devices. A full forensic audit within 30 days. Procurement structure ced directly under the auditmittee, where I’ll hold interim control. We present the initial findings to the board today in a closed session.”

    Andrian stared at Charlotte for a long moment. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Do you want to get rid of Bianca from thepany?”

    “I only want thepany bto /brun cleanly.” Charlotte straightened her posture. “And I refuse to watch Titan Group be burned little by little by bthe /bambition of a woman who exploits her closeness to you!”

    Silence fell. Andrian’s breathing was heavy. His mind swirled with the many issues at hand–Aliana’s offerst night, bElric’s /banalysis bof /bbthe /bvideob, /bband /bbnow /bbthis /bpile iof /idamning evidence of Bianca’s fraud.

    Chapter #4

    b“/bAnd what if I refuse?‘ Andrian challenged, more to text Charlotte’s reshtye

    Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “Then I’ll call for an extraordinary shareholders‘ meeting You’ll face the same gi

    Andrian closed his eyes briefly, then fixed Charlotte with a sharp gaze

    Give me time,” he said. “I want to see for myself whether Bianca truly did all this–or if she was perhaps being used by those closest for he Bianca has contributed a lot in helping me pull thepany out of past troubles.”

    Charlotte clenched her jaw, not expecting Andrian to defend Bianca so strongly. She was a little disappointed but did not object. The fact that Andr epted her report at all was already a positive step.

    “I hope you don’t drag out this case too long,b” /bCharlotte replied, agreeing to Andrian’s request. “And I hope you can act wisely as thepany’s bder /bNot swayed by personal feelings.”

    “Of course,” Andrian answered curtly.

    He shifted his focus back to the documents he was reviewingb, /bsignaling to Charlotte that their conversation was over.

    Charlotte rose gracefully from her seat. Though irritated, she walked out of Andrian’s office with a calm face. She gestured ito /ithe legal staff and financial analyst who had apanied her to follow her out of the CEO’s office.

    Once they reached the quieter corridor, Charlotte halted her steps. She took a breath, then pulled out her phone.

    “It seems Andrian trusts Bianca more than I thought. Looks like your rival is too formidable.”

    Charlotte sent the short message to Aliana.

    Without waiting for a reply, she put her phone back into her handbag and continued walking away from the CEO’s office floor.

    At the Velor family pavilion, Aliana was sitting in her private study. The atmosphere was silent, with only the ticking of the wall clock breaking the stillness. When her phone vibrated, Aliana turned quickly. She grabbed the device and opened Charlotte’s message.

    Aliana’s eyes inarrowed/i. Her gaze was sharp, though her face remained calm. She reread Charlotte’s message before her lips curved into a faint smile. She had already predicted Andrian’s reaction–and to her, it was no problemi. Aliana had already prepared her next move.

    “At the very least, now he knows the faults of the person he’s trusted all this time,” Aliana murmured as she ced the phone on the table. “I’m certaine there wille a time iwhen /iAndrian gives up protecting Bianca.”

    Aliana straightened her iback/i, her eyes ifixing /ion therge mirror in the corner of the room. In the ss reflection, her gaze radiated even stronger determination, For her, Andrian’s trust in Bianca was only temporary. And when the time came, she would ensure that trust copsed on its own- together with the downfall of Bianca Lorraine’s name,

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