Page 93 of Cinderella Is Faking It

Blackmail was usually where things started. Every year, some new asshole cropped up, thinking they could make money or climb the social ladder by holding something over your head. But blackmail wasn’t where these things ended. And I doubted the ghostly look on Del’s face had been down to some asshole trying to get rich quick. “Dig deeper.”

“Not to point out the obvious, but maybe just ask her. If this is something that could endanger the merger, we should know.”

The merger was the last thing on my mind when her words still echoed in my ears.He won’t bother me anymore.The hollow note in her voice so similar to my own when I’d announced our father’s passing to the public. Couldn’t even feign mourning that bastard. “She doesn’t even remember telling me.”

“Then get her high again.” He pulled another pill bottle from his desk with a huge grin, placing it next to the first.

“You realize you’re not above the company’s drug policy, right?”

“I have prescriptions.” He shrugged. “I could hack Cordelia’s emails if you think that would help. But it’ll take some time to make sure it won’t come up if the Axent-Montgomery merger is ever investigated.”

“Fucking hell.” I rubbed my eyes and waved him off. Within ten minutes he’d suggested impregnating and drugging Del, as well as some light privacy infringement via cybercrimes. All in the name of business. I could get on board with hijacking a company from the inside out, but if there were lines in the sand, Julian was the guy who paved over the whole goddamn beach and erected another Axent Grand with ocean view VIP suites. “Just keep digging. There has to be some sort of paper trail.”

* * *

“I found the money.”Jonas waltzed into my office hours later, like I didn’t have an assistant meant to keep anyone without a scheduled meeting far away from me. I glanced at Clarice’s empty desk outside, then dragged my eyes back to Jonas.

“The money you lost?” I asked, wondering if he really wanted me to congratulate him on doing the bare minimum.

“400 acres in the South Pacific.” He tossed an open folder onto the desk in front of me. A bird’s eye picture of a lush green island, with a cluster of buildings in its center, was clipped to a stack of papers. The neat rows of dark green plants left little doubt about it being used as a plantation. “That’s what 120 million gets you.”

“Are you telling me we’re bankrolling a weed farm off the books?” Ignoring the principle of the situation, there had to be cheaper ways to grow a drug that was legal in many parts of the country now.

“Yes and no.”

“Explain.”

“It’s not ours. The money was funneled from Axent, split into around a dozen shell companies all over the world. Twelve little companies, each worth 10 million, none of them directly tied to us anymore. Then another company, called Cryptiq Estates, bought said shell companies for pennies on the dollar, dissolved them, and bought that island. With our money.”

With every twist in that story, a dull pulse grew stronger behind my temples.Thump, thump, thump.We had found each and every leak in our books. Not how they’d gotten there, not where they’d gone, but we’d found the holes. They had been strategically poked, needle thin, money trickling from a restaurant here and a beach resort there. If only one had been discovered, it would have looked like a single shady manager pocketing some revenue. All 49 leaks, however, added up to 120 million in damages. Which meant we had a problem in the C-suite, or on the board.

“Do you come offering a solution, or is your letter of resignation in here somewhere?” I snapped the folder shut and raised my brows at Jonas, who finally had the good sense to look a little frazzled. I may have been making the executive decisions around here, but Jonas had spent the last seven years becoming an essential gear in the Axent machine. We wouldn’t have made it through the pandemic without his understanding of international finance laws. But every gear was replaceable if it wore out over time.

“I want an outside consultant on this,” he said.

“No.”

“Look at that first page again. Look at the name.”

My nostrils flared, but I reopened the folder. A bitter taste filled my mouth when I found the line that named the island’s owner. Just one name. No first name. “Yelchin.”

“You know who that is?” Jonas asked.

“Yes.”

“Someone here hitched their wagon to the wrong horse, and I’m not poking that beast.”

Nobody in their right mind would poke that beast. Even the feds had given up years ago.Thump, thump, thump.The beating grew louder, hammering in my ears. “Il ne faut pas réveiller le chat qui dort.” The words rushed out of me in a low growl.

“Excuse me?”

“Call him.” I pulled my wallet out and slipped a business card out from behind my Amex. “Tell him I’m cashing in my favor.”

Jonas picked up the card and blinked. “I don’t think your doctor will be able to help us with this.”

“Trust me.”

“Beck, if I’m getting myself into the cross hairs, you have to tell me. I’m taking full responsibility, and I’m going down with this ship if I have to, but I’d prefer to get my family on a lifeboat first.”

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