Chapter 261

Chapter 261

The meeting ended and the directors filed out one by one. Leon was about to stand when Cedric's voice cut through the room.

"Mr. Peterson."

Leon paused, momentarily caught off guard, then broke into a smile. "Cedric. Not leaving?"

"I need to talk to you."

Leon glanced at his watch, hesitated briefly, then nodded. "Sure. Let's go to my office."

They walked in together. Leon shut the door, hung his jacket on the coat rack, and sank into the sofa with an easy, relaxed posture. "Go ahead. What's on your mind?"

Cedric didn't sit. He stood in front of the desk, facing Leon, and got straight to the point. "Today's board meeting. You orchestrated the whole thing, didn't you?"

Leon's smile didn't waver. He admitted it without flinching. "I did."

"That email screenshot."

Cedric's voice dropped low. "You had someone forge it."

He hadn't expected Cedric to say it so bluntly. Leon's smile faded slightly, but it stayed in place.

"Cedric, that's a hurtful thing to say. I've been at the York Group for thirty years. When have I ever stooped to something that underhanded?"

"Then tell me—where did the screenshot come from?"

"Anonymous tip."

Leon spread his hands.

"I was just as shocked when I received it. That's exactly why I brought it to the board for an open review. If I really wanted to destroy her, I could've leaked the materials to the press. Why would I bother going through official channels?"

"Because you wanted a legitimate outcome."

Cedric spoke each word with deliberate precision.

"You wanted everyone to see that Katniss was suspended by a collective board vote—not by your decision alone. That way, even if it's overturned later, you've got an entire board to share the blame."

Leon went quiet for a few seconds, then slowly let the smile fall away.

He leaned back against the sofa, tilting his head up to study Cedric. Something calculating flickered behind his eyes.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, his tone flat and noncommittal. "Cedric. Do you trust her, or do you trust me?"

Cedric said nothing.

Leon stood and walked over to him. He placed a hand on Cedric's shoulder, his voice heavy with the weight of a mentor's counsel.

"Cody and I went through hell together. I watched you grow up. When you joined the York Group, I'm the one who helped you secure your position. Cedric—would I ever do anything to hurt you?"

Cedric looked at him. Still silent.

"That woman."

Leon gestured toward the door.

"How long has she been at the York Group? How long have you even known her? Can whatever she offers compare to what I feel for Cody—for this company?"

"She's my wife."

"Wives can be replaced."

Leon's tone was unsettlingly calm.

"But the York Group can't afford a parasite eating it from the inside. Cedric, she's got you wrapped around her finger. Look at yourself lately."

"You've stopped caring about the company. You spend all your time revolving around her. You've turned the boardroom into a circus. Keep this up, and the York Group will crumble in your hands."

Cedric's fists clenched at his sides.

Leon caught the veins bulging across the back of Cedric's hand from the corner of his eye. A faint, unreadable smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice.

"I'll say this once. Everything I've done has been for the good of the York Group. Believe me or don't. Time will tell."

He picked up his jacket, stepped around Cedric, and walked out the door.

The office was empty now. Just Cedric.

He stood rooted to the spot, staring at the doorway where Leon had disappeared. His chest rose and fell sharply.

A long time passed before he slowly unclenched his fists, turned, and walked out.

Back in his own office, he crouched in front of the safe. His fingers moved with practiced ease across the keypad, entering the combination. He turned the dial. A soft click, and the door swung open.

A few items sat inside.

Stock certificates. A sealed will. And a yellowed file folder.

He pulled out the folder, blew the dust off the cover, and opened it.

Inside were the original materials from Jason's embezzlement case—the financial audit report from that time, transaction records, and a whistleblower letter signed in Leon's own hand.

Cedric slid the letter out and laid it flat on his desk. He read through it with painstaking care.

The wording was meticulous. It listed every piece of evidence of Jason's embezzlement—dates, amounts, even account numbers—all laid out with clinical precision.

At the bottom, Leon's signature. Bold, confident strokes. Airtight, just like the man himself.

Cedric turned to the next page—a photocopy of the wire transfer records. His eyes swept across the figures, then stopped cold.

One of the receiving account numbers looked familiar.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled to the screenshot the private investigator had sent days ago—the account information for a shell company. He held them side by side.

Not identical. But the first several digits matched perfectly.

Same bank.

Cedric's heart slammed against his ribs.

He set the phone down and kept turning pages.

On the very last page, he found an authorization slip—the finance department's approval record for the transfer from that year.

Per company policy, any transfer exceeding five hundred thousand dollars required dual signatures from the CFO and the supervising vice president. On that form, the CFO's signature belonged to Jason himself. And in the supervising vice president's signature line, one name stood out in stark, unmistakable ink.

Leon.

Cedric stared at that signature. Something in his mind snapped taut, like a string violently plucked.

He picked up his phone, scrolled to a number he hadn't called in a very long time, and dialed.

Five or six rings. Then a click.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end was aged and gravelly.

"Mr. Murray, it's me. Cedric."

Judge Marc Murray paused for a few seconds. "Mr. York? It's been a while. What can I do for you?"

"I want to ask you about someone. Jason Palmer—the one from the York Group who was convicted of embezzlement. Do you remember him?"

"Jason Palmer..."

Marc considered for a moment. "I do. Why?"

"I need to ask you something."

Cedric gripped the phone tighter.

"During Jason's trial—did he say anything unusual?"

Silence on the other end.

"He shouted something."

Marc thought back, then spoke slowly.

"He said someone set him up. Made him take the fall. But when we pressed him on who, he couldn't give a name. Had no evidence either. We could only rule based on what was in front of us."

Cedric closed his eyes and drew a long, slow breath.

"Mr. Murray, thank you."

He hung up and sat motionless in his chair, staring at the authorization slip on his desk. He didn't move for a long time.

Outside the window, the night pressed in deep and heavy. The city lights flickered in the distance, winking on and off like dying stars.

Then it hit him. All at once, with brutal clarity.

Leon's target had never been Katniss. She was just a pretext. A way in.

What he wanted was to undermine Cedric's authority—to make the board see him as someone who couldn't separate personal feelings from business, someone who would shield his wife at the company's expense.

The moment Cedric lost the board's trust, Leon could fan the flames and seize control of the York Group.