Page 73 of The Mogul: Leonard

She nods slowly, looking away. There’s something in her expression like she is measuring her words to not make my situation worse. But I saw it in her eyes, and it hurt more than her speaking. “I get it. But as much as you want to confront him now, we must consider the bigger picture.”

The reality of that stings. Confronting Oliver now would feel good. It would release the fury boiling inside of me. But she’s right—the stakes are too high for impulsive moves. For this company, for her. I can’t risk Oliver turning against us and going to the FBI now.

“I know.” I try to sound more controlled than I feel. “But right now, it’ll feel like I’m letting him get away with it.”

“We need to gather proof, Leonard,” Roxanne says firmly. “If we go to the FBI now without solid evidence, they could investigate everyone in the company, including us. And with what’s already hanging over me…” She trails off, but I hear the tension in her voice.

Of course. This isn’t just about the company’s integrity—Roxanne’s life is tied up in this too. Her whole career, but most importantly, her freedom. The FBI could decide to do two things with her: put her in prison or not press charges and force her to work for them. I don’t know which is worse. I shake my head, trying to dissipate the fog of anger. I don’t want to make this worse for her. But the need to do something claws at my chest to get free.

I know Roxanne can see my struggle, and there’s a flash of something like frustration in her eyes. She is quick to hide it. “Look, I understand how much this betrayal hurts you. But we can’t rush this. If Oliver is covering his tracks, we need everything on record, or we could end up with nothing.”

My jaw tightens, and I nod, understanding even if I hate it. “You’re right. Doesn’t make it any easier, though.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she agrees, crossing her arms and glancing at the floor. “But we can’t let him see that we’re onto him. Not yet. We have to keep gathering data, tracking his every move until we can go to the authorities with solid evidence.”

The thought of pretending, of working beside him as if I don’t know the truth, makes me sick. I don’t know how long I can keep up the charade. But she’s right. If we blow our cover too soon, we’ll be back at square one, and he’ll have a chance to bury whatever he’s hiding.

Roxanne takes a deep breath, clearly thinking through every implication. “If it helps, I’ll be with you every step of the way. We’re in this together.”

I nod, grateful even as I try to mask the pain and frustration in my chest. “Thanks.”

But she doesn’t stop there. Her brow furrows, and there’s a spark of urgency in her eyes. “We should take the time we need for this. I know you need time to process the entire situation but remember, my life is on the line too. Every day we wait without a plan is a day I could be implicated.”

“I know,” I say it as steadily as I can manage. “I’m not letting anything happen to you, Roxanne. But I need to clear my mind before doing something stupid. My feelings are all over the place, and I don’t trust my reasoning right now.”

She studies me, her eyes filled with that same frustration from before. After a long pause, she finally lets out a sigh. “You’re right. I just…I needed to hear that you’re considering my situation too.”

The room is silent, filled with tension. Slowly, she gives a nod as if assessing our options and agreeing with me. I can tell it’s hard for her—she’s as restless as I am. We don’t have time to waste, but at the same time, we can’t rush our steps. It’s a frustrating situation, to say the least.

“We’ll do it your way, Leonard,” she says quietly. “Just promise me, when the time comes, we won’t hold back. We’ll make sure Oliver gets exactly what he deserves.”

I nod, tightening my jaw, while the determination solidifies in my gut. “He’ll answer for this. I promise.”

But when I say it out loud, the ache in my chest sharpens. This isn’t just about justice. This is personal. The betrayal has shattered something deep, something I’ll never fully get back together. And I’m not sure what’s worse—the fact that Oliver did this or that I didn’t see it coming.

28

Roxanne

Leonard’s home office is dimly lit, filled with the faint scent of cedar and leather and the quiet hum of electronics buzzing. I’m curled up over his laptop, scrolling through screens of data, each line of code and bank statement leaving me more baffled than the last. I can feel Leonard pacing behind me with heavy steps that no doubt mirror the weight in his chest. He is like a raging storm.

He’s not saying much. Since we discovered what Oliver did, he’s become more distant and a far cry from the confident, decisive man I’ve known. It’s not like him to be this quiet. Normally, he would be making plans, delegating, and taking charge. But now he just watches silently as I sift through the wreckage his friend left behind. This is why we are working from home. I’m not confident he would handle Oliver well if they met in the office.

I type a few commands, pulling up some logs from the server. Each new line of information adds a weight to my chest. I know this is tearing him up inside, but he won’t let me in. He’s bottling everything, locking it all away behind that blank face. I wonder how much more he can take before he breaks.

“Leonard,” I say, glancing up at him, hoping to coax even a hint of the old him back. “We’re going to figure this out. It’s just going to take time.”

He doesn’t respond immediately. His jaw tightens, and he crosses his arms, looking out the window with a distant stare. “Time,” he says finally with a low rumble. “I don’t know if we have time.”

I want to reach out, to reassure him, but there’s something in his expression that tells me to keep my distance. This betrayal has wounded him in a way I can’t fix. All I can do is keep going, keep piecing the puzzle together. Help him find the truth and hope for the best.

I return to the screen; my fingers move quickly across the keyboard. Pulling up another log, I see more encrypted files buried deep in the server—Oliver’s files. I recognize the encryption, something only Oliver would use, hidden so well it’s almost as if he dared anyone to find it. My stomach churns as I enter the decryption keys Leonard found earlier. I have a feeling I’m not going to like what I will discover.

“What’s that?” Leonard asks, moving closer, his voice raspy.

“It looks like he’s been hiding entire batches of sensitive data,” I say, keeping my voice calm. “Data we didn’t even know was at risk. Stock market reports, upcoming mergers… It’s not just sensitive information. It’s crucial for the future of each one of your companies.”

I glance back at Leonard, gauging his reaction. He nods slowly, his lips pressed into a thin line, but there’s a darkness in his eyes I haven’t seen before. “Inside information,” he murmurs. “It’s worse than I thought.”

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