Chapter 100 Chapter 100
Dominic pov
The paper sat on my desk like a time bomb, silent but demanding attention. I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the sealed manila envelope Mason had delivered just a little while before. The air in my office was cold despite the afternoon sun pouring through the high windows. I should have opened it by now. I should have been eager to flip through the pages, seize the leverage, and plan my next move. But something in the ease with which Mason relinquished it stayed in my hand.
It was too easy. That was the thought that had been pacing back and forth in my mind like a prisoner in a cell. Mason had not blinked when I instructed him to dig deeper. He had not asked many questions either, he just nodded and disappeared. Now, not even two days later, he returns with something that by any standard should've required longer to dig up. And worse? He had that sparkle in his eye. The same sparkle a street magician gets when he knows he has the crowd in the palm of his hand.
What were his words again?
"There's no way this doesn't change everything."
I rubbed my chin, and sighed. I hated this. This is not knowing and second-guessing. For the first time in a while, I felt like I was the one being watched and manipulated. And it wasn't by Liana this time, it was by someone I'd let get too close.
I reached for my phone and dialed my lawyer. He had slowly become my advisor. The line clicked twice before his voice came on, crisp and tranquil as always.
"Dominic."
"Do you have a minute?"
"I always do. What's on your mind?
I looked at the file once more. "Mason came by with something. Says it's from a person who used to work with the company. It's confidential stuff.”
There was a momentary pause. "And?"
"And it's too smooth," I replied. "Too good don't you think?"
"You think it's made up?"
I stood and walked over to the window, folding one arm across my chest as I gazed out over the compound. "I don't know what I think. It's just... strange. Mason's never failed me before. He's clever, yeah. But this? It was too clean for a timid person. Just… ‘here you go, boss.’"
"Do you suspect him?"
That question dropped into the silence like a punch.
I closed my eyes. “I don’t want to. But I’m not stupid enough to ignore my instincts.”
“I’ve had people run a background check on him before,” the lawyer said after a while. “He came out clean. Grew up here, worked in private security and did some corporate intelligence work before joining her. But…”
“But?”
"But if your gut's telling you something's off, maybe it's time we check. We're a week from court. You can't have around you someone who's leaking to the other side."
I stepped away from the window and sat back down. "That's what I'm scared of."
“You haven't opened the folder?"
"No."
Then don't, at least not yet. Let me have someone else look into it. We'll screen the source, verify the chain of custody. If it holds up, fine. If it stinks, we toss it."
There was a silence between us. Then I said, "If it's real… and I doubted him for nothing…
“You're not wrong to be wary," Okafor said. "Caution and paranoia are similar, but only one of them keeps your head above water in a mess like this."
I ran a hand over my face. "So you don't think I'm overthinking?
"I did not say that," he replied. "I said listen to your instincts. Because win or lose, the folks that are standing beside you in front of that courthouse are the ones who determine how long you keep standing after the jury decides."
I nodded slowly. "Okay. Run it again. Everything on Mason. I want to know where he slept last night and whom he called for breakfast."
"Done."
I hung up and finally opened the file. Inside, the documents were neatly stacked, marked, even color-coded. There was a summary page that provided too many juicy details. My stomach tightened. This was no bluff. Either Mason was being played or was the player, the information appeared to be real.
I closed it and pushed it away. Ten minutes later, Mason came in, with that confident smile that made it seem as if he knew something I didn't, now irritated me even more.
"You read it?"
"Not yet," I said curtly. "But I scanned through."
He sat down, dragging over a chair. "You have to read the final page. The witness has a tape."
"I'll get to it."
He frowned slightly. "Something wrong?"
I met his eyes. "You're sure of your source?"
"Sure thing. Old contact. Used to work with the former CFO and he owed me a favor."
"And you're sure this person has no connection with liana and is playing us?"
Mason leaned back, arms crossed. "You think I'd bring you tainted goods?"
"I think I'm entitled to be careful."
He looked at me for a moment, then nodded. "That's fair."
I didn’t say more. I just let the silence stretch. I wanted to see how he’d respond, how patient he’d be. Whether he’d fidget or shift or get defensive but he didn’t. He just stared back, calm and unreadable.
After a while, I said, "Sorry. My imagination is just running away with me. Too much going on all at once. The court date is near and Liana's games intensified. I'm starting to see ghosts where there aren't any."
Mason smiled dryly. "Then let me be your flashlight. I'll light up anything you'd like."
I didn't smile back.
He stood. "I'll be in the surveillance room in case you need me."
When the door shut behind him with a click, I remained absolutely motionless.
If he was lying, he was damn good at it. Too good.