Chapter 2 - The First Threat
Grant summoned Hannah to his office the next morning.
His office occupied the entire top floor. The windows offered a panoramic view of Manhattan, and the walls displayed photographs of Grant shaking hands with senators, celebrities, and international business leaders.
He stood behind a black marble desk when Hannah entered.
A brown leather briefcase rested beside him.
“Hannah Reed,” he said. “One of our most dependable employees.”
She remained standing.
“You wanted to see me?”
Grant smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
“I heard you became confused by several internal transfers.”
“I found more than eighty million dollars moved from a protected fund into unverified companies.”
“Those companies are verified.”
“Then I need the documentation.”
“You need to sign the quarterly report.”
“I cannot sign it until the transactions are explained.”
Grant walked around the desk.
“You have always been intelligent. Do not become difficult.”
Hannah placed a copy of the report before him.
“The figures are false.”
“The figures are approved.”
“By whom?”
“By people whose names matter more than yours.”
Hannah felt her pulse quicken, but she kept her voice steady.
“Are you asking me to certify information you know is inaccurate?”
Grant studied her.
Then he glanced at her stomach.
“How far along are you?”
“Twenty-eight weeks.”
“And your daughter is nine?”
Hannah’s body went rigid.
Grant picked up a file.
“Mia Reed. Westbridge Academy. Excellent student. Full tuition paid through your employee education benefit.”
“Leave her out of this.”
“I am simply discussing the benefits Whitmore Capital provides your family.”
He closed the file.
“Your apartment is supported by a company housing loan. Your health insurance covers your pregnancy. Your daughter’s education is connected to your employment.”
Hannah understood every word beneath the words.
“If you threaten my child again, I will report you.”
“To whom?”
Grant laughed softly.
“The board members who owe their wealth to me? The regulators who attend my fundraisers? The journalists whose companies depend on our advertising contracts?”
He stepped closer.
“You are not in a position to challenge me.”
Hannah looked at the brown briefcase.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I am protecting the company.”
“You stole from the company.”
His smile disappeared.
“Sign the report by Friday.”
“And if I refuse?”
“I will prove that you authorized every transfer.”
“That would be false.”
“Truth is rarely as powerful as documentation.”
He opened the briefcase and removed a stack of papers.
Each document carried Hannah’s digital authorization code.
She stared at them in disbelief.
“I never approved these.”
“The system says you did.”
“You copied my credentials.”
“Can you prove that?”
Hannah felt the room narrowing around her.
Grant returned the papers to the briefcase.
“Go home, take care of your daughter, prepare for your baby, and stop pretending you are a hero.”
Hannah walked toward the door.
Behind her, Grant spoke again.
“Friday, Hannah.”
She turned.
Grant rested one hand on the briefcase.
“Sign the report, or your life will become very complicated.”
When Hannah returned to her office, a photograph was waiting on her desk.
It showed Mia leaving school with her teacher.
No message had been attached.
None was necessary.
Hannah placed the photograph in her bag, locked herself in the restroom, and struggled to breathe.
For the first time since discovering the missing money, she considered surrendering.
Then she imagined Daniel standing beside her.
He had always told Mia that courage did not mean being unafraid.
It meant refusing to let fear make every decision.
May you like
Hannah washed her face and returned to her desk.
Instead of signing Grant’s report, she began collecting evidence.
