Chapter 78 Office attack
The car ride to the company felt longer than it should have, even if the city blurred past her window in a streak of lights and muted noise. Deborah sat perfectly still in the back seat, her hands resting on her lap, fingers interlocked tightly as if holding herself together by force. The driver said nothing, and she was grateful, she didn’t have the energy to answer questions or entertain the typical small talk. Her mind moved on its own, drifting between the silence of the present and the echoes of what had happened two nights ago, every corner of her memory still soaked in adrenaline and smoke.
When the car finally pulled up in front of the Valmere corporate building, a looming glass structure framed by polished steel, Deborah felt a faint pressure settle in her chest. Reporters gathered outside even at this hour, cameras flashing whenever a familiar face appeared, but security kept them at a distance. As soon as the guards spotted her, they ushered her through the private entrance reserved for executives.
The moment she stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted.
It was too quiet.
Normally, even during urgent hours, the lobby carried a hum of activity... assistants passing documents, executives slipping in and out of elevators, the soft echo of heels against polished marble floors. The hall felt stripped of its usual rhythm, the silence heavy in a way that made her instincts tighten.
She walked toward the elevator, her heels clicking cleanly against the marble. When the doors slid open, she stepped inside and hit the button for the 29th floor. As the elevator began its ascent, Deborah caught her reflection in the mirrored walls.... pale, composed, but with shadows beneath her eyes that she hadn’t noticed until now. Shadows that made her wonder if everyone else could see the weight she was carrying.
When the doors parted, Luna was already waiting.
Her secretary rushed forward, eyes wide and anxious, hands tight around a stack of folders. “Ma’am! thank you for coming so quickly. The Board has been waiting. They said the matter concerns… well, they didn’t tell me everything, but from the urgency alone…” She stopped herself, swallowing nervously. “I’ve never seen them like this.”
Deborah nodded, her voice steady despite the tension in her shoulders. “Where are they?”
“In the executive meeting room,” Luna said, gesturing down the hallway. “But before you go, I need to warn you...... several external auditors arrived earlier, along with two legal officers from the Central Authority. It’s not just a regular Board issue.”
A sharp chill ran through Deborah’s spine.
The Central Authority only came when there was deep, systemic trouble within a corporation financial manipulation, political interference, dangerous affiliations, or bloodline matters that crossed into illegal territory. She hid her reaction with practiced composure, though the unease pulsed beneath her skin.
“Alright,” she said quietly. “I’ll handle it.”
She walked down the hallway with a sense of slow dread building inside her. Every footstep echoed more loudly than it should have, as though the corridor itself were warning her that something about this night would not end simply. When she reached the large wooden doors of the executive room, she took a steadying breath.
She pushed them open.
Inside, the Board members were already seated around the wide table, papers and digital files scattered in front of them. Their faces were tight, drawn with stress, some pale, some stone-faced, some visibly exhausted. Conversations died the moment she entered, leaving the room thick with a silence that sent a shiver down her spine.
Chairman Vortega was the first to speak. “Ms. Valmere. Thank you for coming.”
Deborah stepped forward and took her seat at the head of the table, noting the unspoken tension that rippled across each face. “I came as soon as I received the call. Luna mentioned there were..... urgent matters?”
“Yes,” Vortega said, exchanging a heavy glance with the other board members. “Extremely urgent matters.”
Auditors sat at the corner, their presence formal and unyielding. The two Central Authority officers observed quietly, their badges glinting beneath the fluorescent lights, their expressions unreadable.
Deborah folded her hands atop the table. “What exactly is going on?”
A woman from the financial sector slid a file across the table to her. “We received new information regarding the Valmere family’s international subsidiaries. Particularly the Cain–Devereaux–Valmere covert partnership.”
Her chest tightened.
She didn’t speak, didn’t move, but her pulse stuttered.
The Board watched her with a mixture of expectation and dread.
Vortega sighed heavily. “We discovered something that… complicates matters. Something that places the company and...... you directly at risk.”
He hesitated for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully, aware that one wrong phrasing could ignite a storm.
“The Central Authority intercepted a confidential report indicating that Luther Cain was involved in operations that tie directly to the attempted bombing.”
Every heartbeat in Deborah’s chest paused.
Her hands, steady until now, slowly tightened around the edge of the file.
“That’s.... impossible,” she said quietly.
“It’s not yet proven,” one of the auditors clarified quickly. “But his presence that night, paired with the evidence they recovered, raised suspicion. The Authority is questioning whether his involvement was protective… or orchestrated.”
Deborah stared at him, disbelief and confusion swirling in her chest. “You’re suggesting Luther had something to do with the attack?”
“We’re not accusing him..... yet,” Vortega said carefully. “But the circumstances are… concerning.”
Her breath felt sharp, almost painful, as she kept her expression steady. “Luther Cain saved our lives.”
“And he may have done so for reasons we are not yet aware of,” Vortega replied. “The report indicates that some of the Renard accomplices had previous connections to Cain’s network.”
Her nails bit into her palms beneath the table.
“Are you implying,” she said slowly, “that he staged an attack on us?”
“No,” he answered firmly. “Not necessarily. But we must understand the full picture before the Authority intervenes further.”
Deborah’s pulse hammered unevenly. The raw desperation in his voice when he said her name. None of it aligned with the narrative they were presenting. And yet… the deeper she sank into her thoughts, the more uneasy she became.
Vortega leaned forward, lowering his voice as if he feared the walls might hear. “Ms. Valmere… we need your full truth. Every detail you witnessed. Every moment you shared that night. We need transparency.”
Deborah felt a pressure in her chest so heavy she almost couldn’t breathe. The room was too quiet, too expectant, every eye trained on her as though her answer would determine the fate of the entire corporation.
When she finally spoke, her voice was calm,but laced with something fragile beneath.
“What exactly do you want to know?”
One of the Central Authority officers opened a folder, sliding a page toward her.
“We want to know,” he said, “why Luther Cain was the last person with you before you left the hall.”
Something inside her trembled.
Because she didn’t know how to explain the truth without unraveling everything she had been trying to bury. Someone seen them, someone caught them that night. But...... who??