Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MASK
Nathan Whitmore had faced enemies with guns.
He had faced businessmen who tried to bankrupt him.
He had faced politicians who wanted him gone.
But nothing prepared him for discovering the enemy was sleeping under his roof.
The next morning, Victoria walked into the kitchen smiling.
“Good morning.”
Nathan sat at the table.
Watching.
Studying.
She kissed his cheek.
“I missed you.”
A year ago, those words would have made him smile.
Today, they sounded like a lie.
“I missed you too,” Nathan said.
Victoria smiled.
She didn’t notice the difference.
Or maybe she didn’t care.
“I thought your meetings in New York lasted until Friday.”
“They changed.”
“Oh.”
A small pause.
Too small for most people.
But Nathan noticed.
“You’re not upset I came home early?”
Victoria laughed.
“Of course not. Why would I be?”
Because you weren’t prepared.
Because you thought you had three more days.
Because someone told you I wouldn’t be here.
Nathan watched her carefully.
“You seem surprised.”
“Surprised?”
“Yes.”
She smiled again.
“You’re imagining things.”
Nathan said nothing.
He had learned something in his world.
People reveal themselves when they think they are winning.
That afternoon, Nathan met with his financial team.
The numbers were worse than expected.
“Mr. Whitmore,” his auditor said, placing documents on the table.
“These deductions started eight months ago.”
“Amount?”
“Over forty thousand dollars.”
Nathan’s expression darkened.
“Forty thousand from employees?”
“Yes.”
“Where did it go?”
The auditor hesitated.
“That’s the strange part.”
Nathan looked up.
“The money wasn’t spent.”
“Then where?”
“It was transferred into a private account.”
Nathan leaned forward.
“Whose?”
The auditor pushed the final document across the table.
“An account connected to a holding company.”
Nathan looked at the name.
His face became emotionless.
“Dominic Rainer.”
Nobody spoke.
Everyone in the room knew that name.
Dominic Rainer was not just a businessman.
He was a predator.
He built his empire by destroying competitors.
Three years earlier, he tried to take over Whitmore Logistics.
Nathan refused.
Since then, the two men had been fighting a silent war.
Contracts disappeared.
Partners changed sides.
Employees were bribed.
Someone had been trying to weaken Nathan from the inside.
Now he knew how.
Victoria.
That evening, Margaret found Nathan in the library.
She looked exhausted.
“Mr. Whitmore?”
Nathan turned.
“Yes?”
She hesitated.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Sit.”
Margaret closed the door.
“I didn’t want to say anything before because I thought maybe I was wrong.”
“What did you find?”
She reached into her pocket.
A black matchbook.
Nathan immediately recognized the silver crown symbol.
His face changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“Miss Caldwell’s guest left it behind last week.”
Nathan stared at it.
“Who was the guest?”
Margaret looked nervous.
“I don’t know his name.”
“Describe him.”
“Tall. Gray hair. Expensive suit.”
Nathan already knew.
Dominic Rainer.
Margaret looked at him.
“Is something wrong?”
Nathan closed his hand around the matchbook.
“Yes.”
His voice was quiet.
“But I need proof.”
That night, Nathan checked every security camera.
Every message.
Every visitor log.
Then he found something.
A hidden meeting.
Victoria.
And a man from Rainer’s organization.
Inside his house.
Inside his office.
Inside his life.
Nathan watched the footage again.
Victoria smiled at the man.
She wasn’t scared.
She wasn’t forced.
She was working with him.
Then the man handed her an envelope.
Victoria opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Nathan paused the video.
Zoomed in.
And saw his own face.
The photo was taken from outside his bedroom window.
Someone had been watching him.
Someone had been planning something.
Then Victoria’s voice came through the recording.
The words made Nathan’s blood run cold.
“Once Nathan signs the final agreement, everything will belong to us.”
Nathan froze.
Because he knew exactly what agreement she meant.
May you like
The one that would transfer control of half his empire.
And Victoria had just admitted she planned to steal it.
