“Is everything okay?” I murmur against the nape of her neck, letting my lips ghost over her skin. Thecalmness that had eluded me since the moment Taewon told me about Iris’s return, is back now. Like Cece’s presence is enough to pull me out of the chaos that this merger is becoming. “You sounded stressed earlier.”
She turns in my arms, her lips curving—then faltering just as fast.
“I wanted to…” she says, trailing off for a beat. “Well, I learned something today. You wanna talk about it after dinner?”
I frown. “Why? What is it?” My heart pounds hard against my chest.Shit.
Did she find out about the Miller-Moore meeting? About Iris? Is that why she called earlier—because she knew I ran into my ex-girlfriend?
I tell myself it was innocent. Professional. Still, guilt creeps up my spine. Not about the meeting. About Iris, and the clause. The one I stupidly let slip to someone who isn’t part of this union.
Cece’s expression shifts as her eyes study my subtle panic. Her hands rise, fingers brushing the back of my neck, settling over my pulse. “Calm,” she whispers, her sweet eyes filling with concern. “It’s not that kind of problem. At least… maybe not yet.”
I exhale, trying to slow the pounding in my chest.
Maybe it’s something else.
“I found discrepancies,” she says, quieter now. “In the Astor Holdings Capital Funds. At first, I thought I messed up running the algorithm. I reran my program twice. But… same thing.”
Shit. Did we finally hit something concrete? “And?” I prompt, though I already feel a sour taste forming.
Because I have a feeling who’s behind this. Even ifI’m not ready to admit it yet. Even if pulling my parents down from the professional pedestal I’ve had them on, might turn out to be a career suicide for me.
The old ache creeps back in—the one that’s lived at the base of my spine.
I’ve missed something. I’vebeenmissing something ruinous. And now, I think I’m getting evidence I’ve been floundering to get since the day I took over the presidency three years ago.
I didn’t have Cece then. Now, I do.
“And…” Cece exhales, fingers still resting against my neck. “Levi, the amount missing is upwards of sixty-five million dollars. And that’s only a few years’ worth of displacement. I think…”
Jesus Christ.
“You’re thinking what I’m thinking, huh,” I say, my hands tightening around her waist, dread sinking into my bones. “It’sthem.”
She nods, jaw clenched. “I’ve said this before, Levi. You need to remove them, Levi. Your father and Gareth cannot stay on as shareholders through this merger. I don’t have proof, but I think they’ll bankrupt Wentworth in the name of a merger. Make my company the scapegoat.”
God, she’s right.
This level of financial displacement is literally embezzlement 101. But how do we—
“I’ll try to get an investigation in place,” she says, echoing my thoughts. “Something to actually trace it to them. But—”
Then her eyes lift to mine, voice steadier than before. “You still need to divvy up their shares or find a way to gain more yourself.Soon.”
I nod numbly, my throat working on a dry swallow.
This isn’t how I thought today would go. But I can’t keep ignoring the signs.
I’ve known for a while that my father and his brother have been far too involved, far too vocal about this merger.
At first, they were all for it. Smiling at the press, toasted our success, but lately? They’ve placed roadblocks. Small ones. Quiet ones. Butenoughthat I find it almost deliberate.
Now, with what Cece has found? It’s not just suspicion. It’s something I can actually act on. Base an investigation out of. Especially if upwards of sixty-five million dollars have vanished into thin air.
I sigh. “I guess I owe Thomas and Gareth Astor a visit.”
Her hands squeeze my shoulders gently. “Don’t say anything to give it away.”
