Page 43 of Owning Him
In the end, I decide to generate the raw financial report myself, manually digging into the numbers. I frown. Maybe Sarah messed it up? She’s the one responsible for generating the summaries.
But as the real data finally populates, I realize the truth.
No. Sarah did not mess it up. She almost perfected it to look absolutely flawless on the surface, while millions of dollars were being funneled out of my secondary accounts right under my nose. For weeks, it’s been happening without me noticing a single red flag. Sarah?
Fuck.
I press the intercom button. "Sarah. Step into my office, please."
A moment later, Sarah steps inside. But for the very first time, I notice the tremor in her fingers, the nerves practically dripping off her skin as she avoids my gaze.
Has she been this exact way all these months? Have I been so distracted by Viktor that I missed the signs of a traitor sitting ten feet away from me?
I let out a long sigh. "Sit down, Sarah."
She slides into the chair opposite me, bending her notebook in half. I throw the printed hard copies of the reports she generated onto the table. Then, I turn my laptop screen around so she can see the unedited numbers.
Sarah pales. The color completely drains from her face, leaving her looking like a ghost.
"Valentina, I—I don't know what this is," she stammers. "I would never—"
"Don't lie to me," I cut her off. "You did this. Why?"
I pay her handsomely, just like I do all my employees. I never saw a point in being greedy when money rains on me like a faucet. So why the fuck did she steal from me? If she asked for a raise, I would have given it to her in a heartbeat. And she knows that.
Sarah bursts into frantic, hyperventilating tears.
"Noah blackmailed me!" she cries out, burying her face in her hands. "He found out things... and then he said he'd hurt myfamily, Valentina! He said he'd kill my mother if I didn't route the funds! I didn't have a choice, I swear to God I didn't have a choice!"
Noah.That absolute fucking psycho.
The old Valentina would have had security drag her out of the building in handcuffs within three seconds. But this new version of me, the one who has been softened by Viktor, feels a strange tolerance. I actually feel a pang of pity for her.
I turn my chair around for a brief second, reaching for my desk phone to page my lawyer. He knows exactly what to do to handle this quietly.
But in that one split second, I realize I made a mistake.
A click echoes through the air. Sarah has pulled the compact handgun I keep hidden in my third drawer for emergencies, and she presses the muzzle directly against my waist.
"I'm so sorry, Valentina," she sobs, her voice completely hysterical.
My heart plummets through the floor.No. God, please no. Do not do this to me.Do not take me away from this life right when I finally got my happy ending.
Through the clear glass wall of my office, I see Viktor bolting up from his desk as he locks onto the weapon in Sarah's hand. His face is terrifyingly pale.
I pray to whatever god is listening.Not in front of Viktor. Please, don't let him watch me die.I know what it will do to his soul if he fails to protect me.
"Viktor, stay back!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "Don't come any closer! Stay exactly where you are!"
Sarah is shaking, her grip on the gun unstable. "I'm sorry, I have to... I have to do it, Valentina, or he'll kill them..."
"No, you don't," I plead, but the barrel only pushes deeper into my side. "We can forget this ever happened. I swear to you. You just get fired, I'll give you a good recommendation so youcan leave the city, and I will deal with Noah myself. Just put the gun down."
She shakes her head frantically. "No, no, no... he'll know. If I stop, he'll kill my family. He told me he would!"
"Sarah, stop it!" I shout.
The door explodes inward as Viktor barges in, the security team hot on his heels.
