Chapter 25

Chapter 25
Stella left the restaurant not long after.

Back in her apartment, she ran a hot bubble bath. The water helped soothe the tension in her shoulders. Today was a day.

Then, dressed in her pajamas with a cup of tea next to her, she sat down at her desk and opened the folder Uncle Kai had given her.

Inside were dozens of documents related to the Lighthouse Resort project, contracts, transaction records, architectural drafts, purchase orders, invoices, log books, Check-in notes, and a list of all the workers.

It had everything.

The project had been a joint venture, one of the Kings Corporation's pet projects, which gave smaller firms a chance to build their portfolio. Kings would provide the funding, while the winning teams handled the design and construction. It was a chance many smaller firms would do anything for. If they performed well, it was free publicity and an opportunity to network. That meant multiple contracts rolling in.

Her parents’ company, L&A Construction, had teamed up with Turner Corporation.

In the company, her mom was the main architect while her dad handled all the other areas of running the company and was a civil engineer. Her mother had been the lead architect, and her father managed the company and was also the head civil engineer

The Turner corporation had approached her parents. They were bigger, had access to more workers, suppliers, and resources. The partnership was a win-win corporation. L&A had a talented architect, and Turner had what they needed to fill in the gaps in their manpower.

The project was supposed to be a five-star resort by the ocean, and the building design had to be related to the lighthouse theme. Her mother’s design had been one of the winning works and the one that had the most glowing reviews.

At first, things had gone smoothly.

But one evening, her father discovered that inferior materials were being used. The safety gear equipment Turner supplied to their own workers was subpar. While the workers under her the workers under her parents’ company were well-equipped and safe.

Someone died. 

A worker.

The press got wind of it and all hell broke news. Kings Corporation was subjected to negative public opinion.

Somehow, the blame was shifted entirely to her parents’ company, even though Turner Corporation was in charge of the logistics and supplies. 

King’s corporation sent them a lawyer's letter. 

They were taking L&A Construction to court

Her dad was investigating and gathering evidence of their innocence, as well as all other documents related to the project, to present to the chairman of Kings Corporation so the charges could be dropped.

But no one would take his calls. He couldn’t even get into the building.

Turner Corporation was also uncooperative. 

Other partners, on hearing the news, started to cancel their contracts with her parents’ company. 

Projects were put on hold.

And then they were murdered. 

The project was abandoned, and the land was quietly sold to someone else.

L&A Construction went bankrupt overnight.

Now, the evidence was in her hands. The money wasn’t embezzled by her father but had instead flowed into multiple other accounts.

The only problem was that there was no information on who owned them. 

From Uncle Kai’s diggings, it seemed the Turner Corporation might be a shell company. Or at least, not what it appeared to be.

All other clues point to King's corporation. 

And it was one of the Carsons.

She took a few pictures of the more important files and sent them to Uncle Paul.

A message arrived minutes later.

Uncle Paul: How did you get this?

Stella stared at the message for a few minutes. She didn’t want to mention Uncle Kai’s name. he had done enough already. She didn’t want to disturb the peaceful life he had.

Stella: I have my ways.

Uncle Paul: You’ve made up your mind, haven’t you?

Stella: Yes.

Uncle Paul: Do you have time tomorrow?

Stella: Yes, after work.

Uncle Paul: There’s someone I want you to meet. I’ll send you the address later.

Stella put her phone down and picked up the old photograph Uncle Kai had given her. She brushed her fingers over her parents' faces. 

After so many years of not seeing them, she had almost forgotten what they looked like.

The next day after work, Liam offered to drive her, but she declined. 

She couldn’t let the boss she more or less wanted to destroy, drive her to her meeting place with a co-conspirator. Liam was very smart. She couldn’t risk him getting suspicious. Not at this juncture.

Uncle Paul had sent the address a few minutes before she got off work.

The venue was a classy French restaurant tucked away on a quiet street. When she got there, she found out the place was empty. It had been booked out for the evening by the people she was meeting.

Inside, the lighting was warm and classical music played softly in the background. After she reported her name, a uniformed waiter led her to a table in the centre of the room. 

Uncle Paul and a young man in his early thirties were already seated there. His suit was dark and sharp, different from the Style Liam usually wore. Wait, why was she thinking about him at that point?

“Uncle Paul,” Stella greeted.

“Welcome,” he said, standing. “This is my boss, Noah Brown.”

She paused. 

She recognized the name. Noah Brown was the elusive CEO of a new conglomerate that was fast becoming Kings Corporation's biggest competitor. Initially, it had been just a small company, but five years ago, after a series of mergers and acquisitions, it had exploded in growth. It was now only second to the Kings.

“Stella Moore,” she said, shaking his hand politely.

“Please, have a seat.” Noah gestured. “What would you like to eat?”

A waiter stepped forward with the menu, and she ordered something light.

They ate mostly in silence, only the sound of their cutlery softly hitting the plates could be heard. Every bite had her feeling less and less calm. Why was Noah brown here? They didn’t have any prior interactions that she knew of.

When it was time for dessert, Uncle Paul finally spoke.

“I wanted you both to meet… because you have similar goals.”

Stella’s fork paused mid-air. She looked up.

“I know you’re Stella Stanley,” Noah said. “The daughter of the founders of L&A Construction”

Her fingers clenched around her fork, and her eyes narrowed. 

If he touched Aunty Wendy and her family, she would destroy him. No matter what it took.

“I tried to investigate you, but couldn’t find anything. Your records are squeaky clean. It was Uncle Paul who told me this morning. You have my respect.”

She relaxed a little.

Noah continued. “I actually met your father many years ago. Before the tragedy. It was when problems with the project started, and he started digging.”

Stella looked down. Why had her father gone to meet him? At that time, his company didn’t exist yet.

“The same thing that was happening to him had happened to my father,” Noah’s voice lowered. “It was also a Kings Corporation pet project.

Two years before your parents participated. My father also committed suicide, at least that’s what the police said, before his company went bankrupt.”

Stella’s lips thinned. So they killed him too.

“I had just started college. My parents had been divorced for years, so no one knew we were related. Plus, I lived in a different country with my mother. When I got the news, I didn’t believe he would kill himself. He was planning to come visit me soon.”

Noah’s jaw clenched slightly.

“Two years later, during my summer vacation, I saw the story on the news and noticed the similarities, and decided to return. That’s when I met him. I told him my suspicions, and he shared his findings with me. I was able to begin my own investigation. He told me he found a huge clue, but before we could arrange our next meeting, he died.”

He paused.

“My mother was terrified  and ordered me to return home immediately.”

Stella stayed quiet for a long time. 

“I’ve met other people,” she said. “People like us. They gave me the evidence they had, but it’s still not enough.”

“I believe if we work together, we can destroy kings and get justice.”