C2 THE MAN WITH THE ANSWERS

At nine in the morning, Isabella Hart entered Sterling Global Group with her father’s letter in her coat pocket and the suspicious partnership agreement in her bag. She had barely slept. Her father’s warning kept returning to her mind: the version he signed was not the version they wanted. Someone had manipulated the agreement, and Alexander Sterling’s signature appeared at the bottom. She intended to discover why.

An assistant led her to the forty-second floor, where Alexander waited in a glass conference room overlooking Manhattan. His dark suit was immaculate, his expression controlled. Isabella resented how ordinary everything seemed in his world when her own life had been shattered by her father’s death and the collapse of Hartwell Designs.

She placed the photocopied agreement on the table and demanded an explanation. Alexander examined the clause granting Sterling Global control of Hartwell’s assets after a default. Although his signature appeared genuine, he insisted the document was different from the final version he had reviewed. He retrieved an earlier draft from his folder and placed it beside hers. The disputed clause was absent from his copy.

Isabella refused to accept his explanation without evidence. A signature was a signature, and his company had benefited from the agreement regardless of who had altered it. Alexander acknowledged that the acquisition had been based on financial reports claiming Hartwell Designs had missed several payments. He believed those reports had been accurate when the purchase was approved.

She pulled three bank confirmations from her bag and showed him the dates. Her father’s records proved the payments had been made, even though the acquisition documents listed them as missing. Alexander compared the account numbers and transaction dates, then searched his computer for the original payment schedule. The schedule was missing from the acquisition file.

The discovery unsettled him. If the transfers had reached the correct accounts, the reports used to justify Hartwell’s default might have been falsified. Someone could have diverted the money, concealed the transactions, and made Daniel Hart appear financially irresponsible. Isabella suspected that the deception had been deliberate, but she needed to know who had arranged it and why.

Alexander promised to have his financial team trace the payments and compare the records. Isabella demanded copies of every document connected to the acquisition, including the agreement drafts, internal reviews, payment records, and names of the people who had handled the files. He agreed to arrange access to the documents his company could legally release, though he warned that the process might take time.

She was unwilling to wait patiently while evidence disappeared. Her father had trusted people who apparently betrayed him, and she would not make the same mistake. Alexander seemed to recognize her determination. Rather than dismissing her concerns, he opened the financial review and explained that an outside consultant named Victor Hale had examined Hartwell’s accounts before the acquisition.

Hale had left his consulting firm shortly after the deal closed. His former employers claimed he had resigned normally and accepted work overseas, but Alexander had found no reliable confirmation of his whereabouts. Isabella found the timing suspicious. The man responsible for examining her father’s finances had disappeared after the company changed hands, leaving behind records that no longer matched the evidence her father had preserved.

She asked whether Alexander had investigated Hale properly. He admitted that the initial investigation had found no clear evidence of misconduct. At the time, the acquisition had appeared legitimate, and nobody had questioned the payment reports. The newly discovered bank confirmations changed that position. Alexander agreed to reopen the investigation and search for Hale’s last known address.

Isabella then revealed that her father’s letter mentioned Richard Sterling, Alexander’s grandfather. The name immediately caught Alexander’s attention. Richard had participated in the earliest discussions between the Sterling and Hart families before retiring from active management. Alexander knew they had once shared business interests, but he could not explain why Daniel would have been afraid of him.

Isabella had no further details to offer. Her father had died before she could ask him what he meant, leaving her to piece together the truth from scattered documents and anonymous warnings. Alexander promised to investigate his grandfather’s involvement rather than defend him without evidence. Isabella remained suspicious, but his response was the first thing he had said that sounded less like a corporate explanation and more like a genuine commitment.

Before she could ask another question, a security notification appeared on Alexander’s computer. Someone had accessed Sterling Global’s restricted archive at 2:13 that morning. The account used should have been inactive, and the file opened was the original Hartwell payment schedule. Isabella immediately suspected that the intruder had been searching for the same evidence they were now discussing.

Alexander contacted security and instructed the team to preserve the access logs. The initial report revealed that a file timestamp had been altered, making it difficult to establish exactly what the intruder had viewed. Whoever had entered the archive knew where the important documents were stored and had taken steps to conceal the activity.

The account might have belonged to Victor Hale. His credentials were supposed to have been revoked after his departure, but Alexander could not confirm whether the account had been used by Hale himself or someone who had gained access to it. The uncertainty made Isabella more determined to find him. Hale could explain the missing payments, the altered reports, and the circumstances surrounding the acquisition.

Her phone vibrated on the table. An unknown sender had sent a photograph of her entering Sterling Global’s lobby that morning. The picture had been taken from across the street, close enough to show her face clearly. Beneath it was a short warning: STOP DIGGING. HE KNOWS WHAT HE DID.

Isabella showed Alexander the message. She explained that it was not the first anonymous warning she had received. The earlier sender had claimed that her father trusted the wrong Sterling. Alexander’s expression hardened as he studied the photograph. Someone knew about the agreement, had followed Isabella to the building, and appeared determined to frighten her into abandoning the investigation.

He advised her to avoid meeting Victor Hale alone and to preserve every message she received. Isabella disliked the suggestion that she needed his protection, but she understood the danger. Whoever had altered the records might still have access to both families and could be watching their every move. She agreed to remain cautious without promising to stop investigating.

Alexander returned to the security report while Isabella gathered her papers. She had arrived expecting to prove that he had deliberately destroyed her father’s company. Instead, she had discovered that the acquisition might have been manipulated by someone who understood both businesses and knew how to conceal the evidence. Alexander could still be involved, but the missing records and suspicious messages suggested that someone else had a strong reason to keep the truth buried.

At the door, Isabella asked what he would do if the evidence implicated his grandfather. Alexander paused before answering that he would establish what had happened before deciding what the truth required. It was not a promise of justice, but it was more than a denial. Isabella left the building determined to discover whether he would keep his word.

Outside, her phone vibrated again. The new message contained no photograph, only a warning that made her stop on the pavement.

ASK HIM WHAT HE DID AFTER YOUR FATHER CALLED HIM THAT NIGHT.

Isabella stared at the screen. The sender had not explained who her father called or what had happened afterward, but the message suggested a connection between Daniel and Alexander that neither man had yet revealed. She looked up at the glass tower, wondering whether Alexander was concealing a terrible secret or trying to uncover one before it destroyed him, too.

She would not stop until she knew the truth.