Chapter 8: The Enemy Inside The Company
By noon, I had a list of every person who had communicated with Thomas in the last six months.
The list was longer than I expected.
Suppliers.
Executives.
Employees.
People I had trusted.
People I had celebrated with.
It felt like watching cracks appear in a foundation you built yourself.
One by one.
Quietly.
Emily stood beside my desk.
“You look exhausted.””
“I’m fine.””
She gave me a look.
“You always say that when you’re not.””
I smiled slightly.
“You’ve known me too long.””
“That’s true.””
She placed a coffee beside me.
“Start with facts.””
I looked at her.
“Facts?””
“Yes.””
She pointed to the documents.
“Not emotions. Not assumptions. Facts.””
That was why I trusted Emily.
She didn’t protect my feelings.
She protected the truth.
I picked up the first report.
“Thomas contacted Michael at the restaurant.””
“Yes.””
“Then Andrew’s account was used.””
“Yes.””
“And someone sent me photos.””
Emily nodded.
“Which means someone wants you to know.””
I looked up.
“What?””
“If they wanted to hide, they would hide.””
She tapped the papers.
“This feels like a performance.””
A message designed to create fear.
A trail left intentionally.
I leaned back.
“Then what are they trying to make me do?””
Emily looked at me.
“Turn against everyone.””
Silence.
Because that was exactly what was happening.
Thomas wasn’t just trying to hurt the company.
He was trying to isolate me.
My phone rang.
It was Andrew.
I answered.
“Daniel.””
“What did you find?””
“Something.””
His voice sounded tense.
“I checked the internal access logs.””
“And?””
“There was another login.””
My expression changed.
“Whose?””
A pause.
“That’s the problem.””
“What do you mean?””
“The system says it came from your account.””
I stood up.
“That’s impossible.””
“I know.””
“When?””
“Two weeks ago.””
Emily looked at me.
“What happened?””
I covered the phone.
“Someone accessed the system using my account.””
Her face tightened.
I returned to the call.
“Andrew, send me everything.””
“I will.””
“And Andrew?””
“Yes?””
“Don’t tell anyone.””
A pause.
“Not even management?””
“Especially not management.””
I ended the call.
Emily looked concerned.
“Daniel.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
She pointed at the screen.
“Someone is using your identity.””
I looked at the company records.
Contracts.
Documents.
Approvals.
My name was everywhere.
Which meant someone could make decisions and make them look like mine.
A knock interrupted us.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
Robert Hayes.
Our legal advisor.
“Daniel.””
I looked surprised.
“Robert.””
He closed the door.
“I heard there were issues.””
“Who told you?””
He hesitated.
Small hesitation.
But noticeable.
“People are talking.””
“People who?””
He didn’t answer.
I watched him carefully.
“Robert, what exactly did you hear?””
He sighed.
“That you and Thomas are fighting.””
“Anything else?””
Another pause.
“That you may have violated a contract.””
The room went quiet.
Emily looked at me.
“What contract?””
I looked at Robert.
“Explain.””
He placed a folder on my desk.
“This was delivered this morning.””
I opened it.
My heart sank.
The document contained my signature.
My approval.
My authorization.
Except I had never seen it.
“What is this?””
Robert looked uncomfortable.
“A transfer agreement.””
“For what?””
He didn’t answer.
So I read.
And then I saw the company name.
Reed Holdings.
Someone had created a legal document showing that I had approved a partnership with Thomas.
A partnership that gave him access to Bennett Construction assets.
I looked at Robert.
“This is fake.””
He nodded slowly.
“I believe you.””
“But?””
“But someone filed it.””
Emily stepped closer.
“Who?””
Robert looked at me.
“The question isn’t who filed it.””
He opened another page.
“The question is why nobody noticed.””
I scanned the signatures.
Executives.
Managers.
People from different departments.
A whole chain of approvals.
All fake.
Or worse.
Not fake.
Because someone had helped.
I looked at my company.
The thing I spent twenty years building.
And for the first time, I wondered if the enemy wasn’t outside.
Maybe they had been sitting beside me all along.
Then Robert said something that made my blood run cold.
“Daniel, there’s one more thing.””
“What?””
He looked down.
“The person who submitted this paperwork used a witness.””
“Who?””
Robert slowly turned the page.
And I saw the name.
*Margaret Collins.*
The woman who had recognized me at the restaurant.
May you like
The woman who apologized.
The woman I thought was on my side.
