Fake smile

Fake smile
"What is it?"

Diego's voice broke the silence after he noticed the shock on my face.

I looked up from the file in my hands, still trying to process what I had just seen.

"I... Sir," I began hesitantly. "Are you the one authorizing the transactions to Zoha Shares Ltd.?"

A deep frown settled on his face.

"What do you mean?"

Without saying another word, I walked over to his desk and handed him the financial file. I had already marked the pages that contained the suspicious transactions.

He flipped through the documents, scanning each page carefully.

The moment his eyes landed on the highlighted figures, his expression changed.

His eyes widened slightly.

"What the..."

He immediately reached for his phone and dialed a number.

Watching his reaction, I became even more certain that he knew nothing about the transfers.

So I wasn't imagining things.

Someone had really been stealing money from the company.

The call connected after a few seconds.

"Ryan," Diego said sharply, "I just reviewed the Jones CA financial records, and there have been multiple transfers to a company called Zoha Shares Ltd."

He paused, listening to whatever Ryan was saying on the other end.

"What the hell is that company, and who owns it?" he demanded.

His voice grew colder with every passing second.

I remained where I was, quietly observing him.

Everything about his reaction told me he had just discovered the fraud along with me.

After listening for another moment, Diego spoke again.

"I don't care how long it takes. I want that company investigated immediately."

He stood from his chair and began pacing around the office.

"Track down the owners. Find out where every single transfer went."

Without waiting for another response, he ended the call.

The office fell silent.

Diego looked down at the file once more, studying every page with greater attention.

His frown deepened.

Then he looked at me.

"Take out your phone."

I quickly reached into my pocket.

"Search for Zoha Shares Ltd."

I unlocked my phone and typed the company's name into the search engine.

Several results appeared almost instantly.

"I found it," I said.

"What does it say?"

I cleared my throat and began reading.

"Zoha Shares Ltd. is a charitable funding organization dedicated to supporting orphanages, motherless babies' homes, elderly care centers, and underprivileged communities through financial assistance and humanitarian projects."

As soon as I finished reading, Diego let out a quiet scoff.

"Rubbish."

He shook his head.

"That's nothing but a carefully crafted disguise."

I looked at him in confusion.

"A disguise?"

"Yes," he replied. "People who commit financial crimes often hide behind organizations that appear trustworthy. Charities are less likely to attract suspicion."

He pointed at the file lying on his desk.

"Everything written on that website could be fake."

He leaned forward and rested both hands on the desk.

"They're using that image to hide their real identity."

A chill ran down my spine.

If Diego was right, then someone had been stealing from the company for months without anyone noticing.

I glanced back at the highlighted transactions.

How had everyone overlooked this?

Before either of us could speak again, someone knocked lightly on the office door before pushing it open.

Ellie walked in wearing a gentle smile, her expression as innocent as ever.

The moment I saw her, I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

What a talented actress.

"Baby," she said softly as she walked toward Diego. "What's wrong? You look stressed."

Diego didn't bother hiding his frustration.

"Someone has been stealing money from Jones CA."

Ellie's smile disappeared instantly.

"What?"

He picked up the file and held it up.

"Large amounts of company funds have been transferred to Zoha Shares Ltd. for the past six or seven months."

He glanced briefly in my direction.

"Lyla noticed irregularities in the financial records, and that's how we discovered it."

Ellie's eyes widened in what appeared to be genuine shock.

"Oh my God."

She covered her mouth with one hand.

"Who could possibly do something so evil?"

I lowered my gaze to hide my expression.

If only Diego knew. If only he could see past the innocent face she wore so effortlessly.

She stood there pretending to be just as surprised as the rest of us, while I couldn't help wondering whether her reaction was real... or whether she already knew far more about Zoha Shares Ltd. than she was letting on.

It was possible for Ellie to do anything.

After everything she had done to me, nothing she did could surprise me anymore.

She wanted to destroy Diego.

She had already ruined my life without feeling an ounce of guilt, so what was stopping her from going after him too?

At that moment, she became my biggest suspect.

"Baby," Ellie said softly, breaking the silence. "Have you found the person responsible? Have you been able to trace the company?"

Diego shook his head. "Not yet," he replied, his jaw tightening. "But it won't stay hidden for long."

His eyes darkened as he looked down at the file on his desk.

"We'll track them down soon enough."

He paused before adding in a voice filled with anger,

"And when I find the person behind this, I'll make sure they pay for everything they've done."

His words hung heavily in the room.

For the briefest moment, I noticed something flash across Ellie's face.

It looked like fear. The expression disappeared so quickly that I almost thought I had imagined it.

Maybe I was reading too much into it.

Or maybe… She really had something to hide.

Ellie quickly recovered and smiled at Diego.

"Baby, don't worry too much," she said gently. "I have a friend whose boyfriend is a hacker. He's very good at tracing online transactions. I'll ask him to help. Maybe he'll find something before your team does."

Diego nodded.

"Fine."

"Every bit of help counts."

Ellie smiled sweetly before turning her attention toward me.

"Well, baby," she said to Diego, "if you don't mind, I'd like to spend a little time alone with my sister. There are a few things I'd like to discuss with her privately."

Her cheerful tone made my skin crawl.

What now? What did she want from me this time?

Hadn't I already done everything she asked? I had convinced Diego to reconsider the party.

I had kept quiet about everything.
What more did she want? Diego didn't seem suspicious.

"That's fine," he answered simply before picking up another file from his desk.

"I'll see you later." Ellie leaned forward and kissed his forehead affectionately.

The simple gesture made something tighten painfully inside my chest.

I immediately looked away. I had no right to feel anything.

He was her husband. No matter how fake their marriage seemed, I had no place between them.

Before I could gather my thoughts, I felt Ellie's fingers wrap tightly around my wrist.

"Come on, sis," she said with another bright smile. "Let's go."

I forced a small smile, although every instinct told me to pull away.

Everything about her behavior felt fake.

Without waiting for another word from Diego, she led me out of the office.

The moment the office door closed behind us, her grip became tighter.

I tried to pull my hand free. "Ellie, you're hurting me."

She didn't respond. Instead, she continued dragging me down the hallway toward her bedroom.

No matter how hard I tried to loosen her grip, she refused to let go.

When we finally reached her room, she pushed the door open with enough force that it slammed against the wall.

Before I could react, she shoved me inside.

I stumbled forward and barely managed to catch my balance. The door slammed shut behind us.

I turned around angrily. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I demanded.

Before I could say another word, her hand struck my face. The slap echoed through the room.

My head snapped to the side from the force.
For a moment, I couldn't even process what had happened.

A sharp sting spread across my cheek.
Slowly, I lifted my trembling hand and touched the burning skin.

I stared at her in disbelief. "You slapped me?"

My voice shook with anger. "How dare you hit me?"

Instead of answering, Ellie walked toward me with slow, steady steps.
There wasn't even a trace of the sweet woman she'd pretended to be moments ago.

Her eyes were cold, filled with nothing but hatred.

She stopped directly in fr
ont of me.

"Your job," she hissed through clenched teeth, "is to seduce Diego."

She jabbed a finger against my shoulder."Not investigate company accounts."

Her voice grew even sharper. "How dare you interfere in something that has nothing to do with you?”