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Chapter Twenty Three

Author: Scott Franklin
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-13 14:23:53

Elena's POV

I sat under the hum of the fluorescent light and observed the lawyer ask the questions. The room was heavy with paper and cold coffee. My hands were folded in my lap.

"State your name for the record," the lawyer spoke.

"Elena Hart," I stated.

"Ms. Hart, were you a part of the procurement decisions for the East division in the last quarter?"

"Yes. I reviewed vendor codes and reconciled shipping reports. I reported anomalies to legal and security."

"Did you do it in writing?"

"Yes. I reported to Percival and to the internal portal. There are dates and times."

"Were any of those observations taken up to the executive level?"

"Yes. I reported to Mr. Blackwood and Mr. Percival. They asked that counsel review the transactions."

The questions were short. My answers were blunt. I noticed the lawyer writing. He asked me for dates, names of files, where I had copies. I told him the truth and succinctly.

Beneath my riotous breast, my ribcage pounded with a drumbeat. The old voice in
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  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Thirty

    Dominic's POVHer text woke me. Two short words: We got something big.I read it twice and felt the old animal wake in my chest. I did not think. I drove.The compound was the same grim row of metal doors I had seen on the camera last week. I parked a block away and walked in. Corbin met me at the gate with his usual two-step nod. He did not bother with small talk.“You came,” he said.“I did,” I answered. I handed him my badge. “Where is she?”“In Unit 44,” he said. “Forensics set up a table. Mira is there. Percival’s on call. We kept it tight.” He let the word tight hang like a plan.The folding table was a hum of lamps and paper. Elena sat with her sleeves rolled up. She looked up when I entered and for a second everything else dropped away. She did not smile. She did not need to. Her face had that precise thing I loved: focus without flourish.“You should not be here,” she said, voice low.“You sent a text that said big,” I said. “I came.”She folded a page and pushed it across to

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Twenty Nine

    Elena's POVThe compound smelled of oil and old cardboard. It was colder than I expected. Corbin led the way past a line of metal doors. He did not speak much. He never did until he had facts to share.“This is Unit 44,” he said. His voice was low. “Forensics already did an initial sweep. You good to work here?”“Yes,” I said. My hands were steady even though my heart was not. I had slept badly. I had run through numbers in my head. Still, seeing the place made the work feel more real.The techs had set up a folding table. Lamps leaned over stacks of files. One tech, Mira, nodded at me. She had been the junior analyst who found the clause. She had the same quick, bright look; she had stayed later and come here.“Gloves on,” Corbin said. “No phones. Log your entry.” He handed me a badge and a small paper slip. “Sign and time.”I signed and wrote the time. My handwriting had a slight tremor. I did not like it. I did not show it.We opened the first box together. Papers rustled. My finge

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Twenty Eight

    Dominic’s POVI arrived at the boardroom early. The table was long and cold. Chairs sat like waiting sentries. Percival and Ms. Alvarez were already there. Corbin stood at the back with a manila folder. I set my briefcase down and kept my face even.“We have a full agenda,” I said, and my voice was flat. “But first, we need to address an internal matter. Counsel will speak.”Ms. Alvarez stood and walked to the front. She had the sealed warrant in a folder. She spoke in legal lines that cut clean through the small murmurs.“Directors,” she said. “A magistrate issued sealed limited warrants this morning. They relate to trustee disbursements and trustee correspondence. We are cooperating with the court. No further comment is appropriate until counsel advises.”The room shifted. Papers rustled. I watched faces. Some registered surprise. Some did not move. Some tried to look very busy but their eyes flicked toward the door like birds.When the veteran director rose, he moved slow and with

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Twenty Seven

    Elena's POVI woke to my phone buzzing before dawn. The headline on my feed had a sharp edge: “Blackwood Inquiry: Inside Story…Was Ms. Hart Seeking Publicity?” I read it twice. The piece hinted. It did not state. It planted a seed.I felt the old shame like a cold hand. It slid across my skin and made my chest tight. I had lived with that small voice for years — the one that said I did not belong, that I should be quieter. For a moment I wanted to crawl back into the bed and hide.I put the phone down and called Percival.“Percival,” I said when he answered.“Elena,” he said. His voice was already calm. “I saw it.”“Can you be here in thirty?” I asked.“I’ll be there.” He did not ask why.He arrived with two cups of coffee and a folder. He set them on my kitchen table like a neutral intervention. “We deal with facts,” he said. “We do not give them room to make stories.”“How bad is it?” I asked.“It’s a small piece. A columnist wrote a speculative line and a couple of outlets picke

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Twenty Six

    Dominic's POVI sat in the back of the small courtroom and watched the room move like a slow animal. The lights were low. A few lawyers shuffled papers. Percival sat to my left. Corbin sat near the front. Ms. Alvarez had her notes ready. I kept my hands folded and breathed even.“State your case,” Hammond said. His voice was tired but blunt.Ms. Alvarez stood and walked to the bench with a thin folder. “Your honor,” she said, “we have a ledger entry and related documents that show a routing through Langley & Pierce Trustee Services. The routing matches transfers to accounts that benefited Director Havel. We request limited warrants for trustee records, bank logs, and device mirroring of the trustee contacts. We will present a sealed affidavit.”The magistrate read a page and looked up. “You have probable cause?”“Yes, your honor,” she said. “We have chain of custody. We have the ledger. We have preliminary handwriting indicators. We ask for a sealed order to prevent preemptive destruc

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Twenty Five

    Elena's POVI stayed late at the office. The lights hummed. The cleaning crew had gone hours before. My laptop screen was the only bright thing in the room. I had printouts in neat stacks, each one labeled and clipped. I moved them like puzzle pieces.Percival had sent a list of likely questions. He left half a dozen sticky notes on the folder with suggested phrases and points. I read them one by one and spoke them out loud.“State your name for the record,” I said into the quiet room.“Elena Hart,” I answered.“Explain your role in the procurement review.”“I reviewed vendor codes. I flagged anomalies. I passed the file to legal and security.” I kept my voice flat and slow. I kept my sentences short.I stood and paced. I said a line, then another. I tried the same reply with different tones. I tried calm, then firm, then tired. I tried to sound honest and precise. I listened to how the words landed in my own head.Percival sat across from me with a legal pad. He wrote notes with a sm

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