Chapter 42
JOHN’S POV
I stared at my phone in amazement. This has to be a joke.
“What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean by insufficient funds? How did someone have access to our Treasury?”
Are those words something a billionaire should ever hear?
“The money has always been tracked by face value; no in-depth monitoring was made due to the firewall we created around the safe.
It was full proof; no one could get in.”
“Not until now, you idiot! I yelled, but I had to do it softly because I didn't want to worry Belinda at all.
This could be a glitch, for all I know.
“We’ll try to fix it, sir.”
“You better.” I growled into my phone and ended the call.
I began to pace; this doesn't seem right.
“I'll have to involve the top dogs.”
I began to place calls to the police and detectives who could help trace the money.
“It's best if you head to the other branch in Tahoe City." One of the detectives told me later that night.
He'd done some digging, and truly, someone was pulling money from the account, but they couldn't trace the person.
*********************************************************
“Baby, where are you going?” I glanced over my shoulder and saw Belinda leaning against the door of the walk-in closet in my room.
I was currently packing my suitcase for my trip, and I thought I was silent enough to not wake her.
“Did I wake you?”
She shook her head, her bird-neat of a hair swaying in her direction.
“Is something wrong? You didn't tell me that you were going somewhere today.” She asked, her eyes laced with worry and a bit of panic.
This is why I didn't want to tell her.
“Something urgent came up at my branch in Tahoe City; I need to get there urgently.” I answered,
“I didn't tell you because I knew you'd want to come with me.”
“How long will you be gone for?” She asked
“Not too long. The issue should be resolved in three to four days, and I'll come back to you. I promise.”
I walked up to her and gathered her up close, my body relaxing as it came into contact with hers.
“About the clinic, why don't you pick out the layout and design you like, and when I get back, we'll begin the construction, hm?”
“John–”
I cut her off. “It's too late to back off now. You already promised me.”
“I wasn't going to back off.” She looked up at me, her chin on my chest. “I was going to ask for your opinion about the clinic.”
I grinned and pecked her lips. “You don't need my opinion on anything. I want the clinic to be yours and yours alone.
Something you've always wanted.”
Her eyes sparkled in a way that only I could make them shine.
“It'll be the most beautiful clinic you've ever seen.” She bounced in my arms.
“I do not have a doubt about that.” I smiled.
The plane ride to Tahoe was pure torture. If it wasn't for the airplane mode function, my phone would probably be bombarded with calls.
Just before I got on the plane, I received close to twenty calls, each one not ending before another came in.
Each one is more important than the last.
It felt like everything I knew and all I had ever worked for was going down the drain.
But I refused to give up!
Whoever was behind this would face my wrath by the time I'm done with him or her.
The minute we landed, two people in black suits were waiting for me.
A lady with her hair sleeked back into a tight ponytail and a man who looked just as out together, but to a keen observer, you could see the tiny detail of apprehension in their stance.
"Welcome, Mr. Callahan; this way, please.”
I was rushed into a black-tinted limousine, and the two people climbed in almost immediately.
“My name is Talia Banks, and this is my assistant, Percy Grim.”
I nodded.
I didn't have the time to know my staff by name or by face because my head only stores important things.
The only thing I know is that Yvonne was the one managing the Tahoe City branch, and she'd informed me once about changing the manager because he was stealing from the company.
I glanced up at the two people seated in front of me.
There's no way they're the ones behind this, because we were also facing the same thing at home and with my personal bank, which shows just how good this hacker, whoever he is, is capable of doing.
“Tell me,”
Talia nodded and reached for an envelope behind her.
Hmmm…she came prepared.
“Over the last couple of months, there have been discrepancies in the transactions made in the company, and truly thorough investigations were made to find out who was the culprit,”
She stopped,
My eyes darted from her to her assistant, my fist clenching and unclenching as my patience ran out.
“But what…? This is not a movie; you can't stop information like this halfway.”
“The culprit is not in the company, sir. We checked everyone but found nothing, and most of our staff are new recruits; the old ones didn't know much about the company except their work.”
I narrowed my eyes at her skeptically. “What are you trying to say?” She was beating around the bush with the way her eyes were darting around and the way she fiddled with her fingers.
“Have you searched your Los Angeles branch, sir?”
“That is the company directly under me, HQ, if I must add. You really think the culprit will be that daft to operate right under my nose.”
“Whoever did this, boss,” Percy spoke up this time, looking at me with all seriousness, “knows your in and out like the back of their palm.
They have access to your security code and treasury.”
I look at them suspiciously and say, “Trying to divert my attention from the both of you is a nice trick, but it won't work.
My team is made up of some of the most trustworthy people. They would never do anything like this.”
“And yet, this happened from that branch first! You seem to forget, sir, that we are also your team. I'm in a different location.” He snapped
“I don't like how you're speaking. Do you want to lose your job?” My voice had a coldness to it.
“At this rate, I'll be glad if I still have a job by the weekend." He sighed, and I saw it.
He was just trying to protect the job he loved so much, and all he has done is throw accusations at them.
I might not be in tune with the Tahoe City branch, but they were very hardworking and contributed to 50% of the of the growth of Nostalgia.
The limousine stopped, and the doors were pulled open.
All three of us got down and walked straight into the building.
The staff bowed in greeting as we walked, none of us answering as we had more pressing issues to attend to—a fire on the mountain so large that it could consume the whole thing.
I pushed the door of the emergency room open and saw a full team of hackers working.
Each click-clacking away at their laptops.
They looked up and saw me, but I stopped them from greeting, “Get back to work. We can exchange pleasantries later. For now, let's save nostalgia.”
Percy, Talia, and I moved around, supervising and asking questions.
“No, no, no!” One of them yelled.
“David, what is it?” Talia asked as the three of us appeared at his side in a giff.
His laptop was completely covered in numbers and binary codes.
“He's trying to log me out!” David yelled as he furiously typed away at his keyboard, clearly trying to override the hacker, and in a matter of seconds, the nunbers stopped miving and a skull face appeared on his screen.
“No! Dammit!” David yelled as he punched the table. His back heaved as he breathed heavily. Slowly, his hand dropped from the table, and he looked up at me with defeat in his eyes. “I'm sorry, boss. I tried.”
I placed my palm on his back and patted. “You did good. Don't fret. We have others still working on it.”
But I could never be more wrong because, one by one, each laptop was logged out with the same skull face.
Until we were down to one laptop, Fiona's,.
But even then, her laptop hanged and changed to the company’s bank account.
Which, strangely, still has billions in it.
But they told me it was insufficient.
And right in front of our eyes, the numbers began a fast countdown.
“No, Fiona! Do something!” “I’m trying.”
“Stop the numbers!”
“The money is going.”
“That darn bastard!”
And we all watched as billions of dollars turned to zero in value.
“It's gone. Everything,” And Talia collapsed.