Chapter 116: Resigned.
Danika's POV
By early Sunday morning, I was already seated inside the office with several files spread across the massive mahogany desk in front of me. The company that was usually overflowing with movement, conversations, ringing phones, and rushing employees now felt strangely abandoned due to the ongoing federal investigation surrounding Apex Bio-Tech and Lysander’s public connection to it.
Most of the staff had been instructed to remain home until further notice, leaving behind only essential security personnel and a select group of trusted executives who were authorized to continue working during the crisis, and although the silence should have made it easier for me to think clearly, it somehow only intensified the pressure sitting heavily on my shoulders because every second that passed without answers brought us closer to Monday morning and the federal deadline looming over our heads like an execution blade waiting to fall.
Lysander had already left the mansion hours earlier to meet with the police but despite the severity of the accusations against him, the authorities couldn’t formally charge or detain him yet because his lawyers had successfully forced them to review the counter-evidence we intended to present before any legal action could proceed further, which honestly didn’t surprise me considering the kind of power, influence, and financial reach Lysander possessed.
However, even though he technically remained free for now, he still had to stay physically present with the police but the truly unbelievable part of all this was the fact that Lysander himself looked completely unconcerned by the entire situation. If anything, he seemed amused by the chaos unfolding around him.
I stared quietly at the files in front of me when suddenly a sharp knock echoed against the office door and pulled me out of my concentration almost immediately. Before I could respond, the door opened and Valeria stepped inside carrying a slim leather folder tucked beneath one arm while maintaining the same calm, unreadable expression she always wore whenever she entered a room, though the faint sharpness lingering in her eyes told me instantly that she had uncovered something important. Everything about the woman radiated professionalism and precision, from the way she walked to the way she held herself so perfectly composed, and although we had only met recently, I was already beginning to understand why Lysander trusted her enough to place her directly under my authority during something this dangerous.
I leaned back slightly in my chair before folding my hands together over the desk and fixing my gaze steadily on her. “Did you find something?” I said calmly.
Valeria walked toward the desk without hesitation before opening the folder carefully and sliding several printed surveillance photographs along with a detailed location report toward me, her movements smooth and controlled.
“We located Victoria late last night,” Valeria stated evenly while tapping one of the surveillance photos resting on top of the file. “She avoided checking into any registered hotel under her legal identity, which means she anticipated the possibility of being tracked through standard financial systems, but my contacts were still able to trace her movements through private cash transactions. She was planning on leaving the country in a few days.”
A cold smile slowly touched my lips as I lowered my gaze toward the photographs spread across the desk because hearing that Victoria was cornered and hiding like a frightened criminal after spending so long manipulating everyone around her brought me a level of satisfaction I honestly didn’t bother hiding anymore.
“Excellent,” I said quietly while sliding the photographs back toward Valeria and leaning deeper into my chair, my mind already calculating the next steps carefully because capturing Victoria immediately would be foolish when we still didn’t fully understand the extent of her connections or how much evidence she might attempt to destroy if she realized we were closing in on her.
“We know exactly where she is now, which means she’s no longer the one controlling this situation. Don’t move against her yet because I want her comfortable, relaxed, and convinced she still has a clear escape route available to her right until the exact moment the trap closes completely around her.”
Valeria nodded once in understanding before flipping toward another section inside the folder, though this time the slight shift in her expression immediately caught my attention because the calm professionalism in her eyes darkened into something colder and far more serious than before.
“There’s another matter concerning the internal investigation you requested last night,” she continued carefully while placing two additional files on top of the desk, her voice lowering slightly as if even the empty office walls shouldn’t overhear what she was about to say next. “And unfortunately, your suspicions were entirely correct, Mrs. Laurent-Ashworth. There is a mole inside this company.”
I closed my eyes briefly and released a slow breath through my nose because deep down, I had already known this was the only explanation that truly made sense after spending hours thinking through every possibility the previous night inside the mansion. There was absolutely no realistic way Victoria could have replicated Lysander’s executive authorization signatures with such terrifying accuracy on her own. Lysander's signatures weren’t ordinary signatures copied from simple legal documents or public contracts available online. Only a select number of high-ranking employees could even access documents containing Lysander's signatures meaning Victoria would have needed direct assistance from someone already operating inside the company to obtain them successfully.
The more I thought about it, the colder my expression became because whoever helped Victoria hadn’t simply leaked information but had likely spent months carefully feeding her access to highly confidential files containing Lysander’s authentic signature records without anyone noticing.
I slowly opened my eyes again before fixing Valeria with an icy stare, “Who is it?” I asked quietly, my voice carrying enough sharpness to slice through the silence. Valeria immediately reached into the folder and removed two detailed personnel portfolios before laying them side by side across the desk directly in front of me.
“These two people worked within the finance division,” Valeria explained while tapping the printed photographs attached to each file. My eyes settled on both paragraphs; a man and a woman. They've been working in the company for more than three years.
“Have you been able to arrest them? If we need more information, we're going to have to talk to them first.”
But instead of answering immediately, Valeria’s expression darkened noticeably and the silence that followed told me something was wrong before she finally spoke again. “That’s the problem,” she admitted grimly while folding her hands neatly behind her back.
“Both employees resigned from the company several months ago around the same time Victoria returned from Europe and began establishing Apex Bio-Tech. They disappeared afterwards, but I was able to find surveillance of them meeting Victoria and handing her some documents. We were able to trace those documents to a few ones missing from the company months ago, and sure enough, they do contain the President’s signatures. Along with a few other information private to the company.”