chapter 1

Sophia's POV

I knew something was wrong when I saw the crowd, employees were gathered outside the conference room in small groups whispering among themselves.

The moment I stepped off the elevator, conversations stopped, heads turned, just few people quickly looked away, others exchanged uneasy glances. My pace slowed as I began to wonder what was going on. I tighten my grip on my handbag as I slowly scanned the floor.

Bennett accounting has always been a busy place but it has never been like this before, the atmosphere felt heavy like a storm waiting to break. Normally, by nine o'clock, people would be rushing between offices, carrying files, answering calls, complaining about deadlines and so on. But today, everyone looked nervous and fearful, as if they were waiting for something terrible to happen.

When I stopped beside the receptionist desk, she looked up “good morning ma” her voice sounding strained, the face and the tune she use to greet me was no where to be found.

“Morning, claire. What's going on”.

Claire opened her mouth to speak but couldn't say anything. Her eyes flickered towards the conference room.

Is dad in there? I asked pointing towards the conference room.

She nodded, then continued “with Mr Lawson”

“You mean Mr. Derek?”

She nodded “yes ma’am”

Derek Lawson is dad's business partner. Those two rarely argued. If they were locked inside a conference room before nine in the morning, something must have gone very wrong.

I fastened my pace as I headed towards the conference door. The closer I got, the clearer the voices became. Both my dad's and Derek's voice were raised so high and they sounded very angry as if they were going to fight that minute.

“Don't tell me to calm down!” Derek barked.

My dad's voice cut in immediately “I'm trying to understand what happened”

“Understand?” Derek laughed harshly “eight hundred thousand pounds is missing, David. What exactly is there to understand”

My heart nearly stopped immediately I heard the amount. Eight hundred thousand? For a moment, I wondered if I heard wrong.

Then Derek spoke again “clients are already asking questions. People are already talking, we are on the verge of loosing this firm…”

A chair scraped violently against the floor. “I know that” dad replied, his voice sounding very exhausted and that was unlike him. “We don't even know where the money went”

“Then find out” Derek's said with a voice that would make one tremble.

The words exploded through the room. I couldn't wait any longer, I had to push the door open. Immediately, the room went cold. instant silence filled the room as if no one was there.

Both men turned towards me. Dad looked very terrible, his shirt sleeves were rolled up, his tie hung loose around his neck, dark circles shadowed his eyes. Derek didn't look much better anyway.

The conference table was covered in financial reports, bank statements, invoices and transaction records. The kind of paper work that usually booted me to death.

Today, however, every page seemed to carry a sense of urgency. “What happened” I asked.

Neither of them answered and that scared me a bit, because my father always answered. “Dad!” I tried to draw his attention but he looked away. That gesture made my pulse quicken. “What happened”

Derek muttered under his breath. Dad rubbed a hand over his face. For a moment, he looked like a man carrying the weight of the world.

Then my dad sighed and said “someone has been stealing from the company”

The words hit me like a punch, I stared at him waiting for him to laugh and say he was joking, but he didn't. I asked “how much”

At first no one said anything, then Derek answered me “approximately eight hundred thousand pounds”.

The room tilted, my legs suddenly felt weak. Loosing eight hundred thousand pounds isn't a mistake, it is not even an accounting error. That's a disaster.

I lowered myself into the nearest chair as my mind raced. Who could steal that kind of money? How come nobody noticed until now.

I looked up “dad tell me this isn't real”.

“I wish I could” his voice sounding roughly defeated.

The sound of the amount frightened me more than the number itself.

My father had built Bennett accounting from scratch. I grew up watching him work sixteen-hour days. I watched him miss birthdays, holidays, and family dinners because he was trying to build something that would outlast him.

The company wasn't just a business, it was his life. And now someone was destroying it.

A sharp knock interrupted the silence. The receptionist stepped inside, her face looking very pale.

Dad frowned “what is it?

She swallowed hard before she spoke “there are reporters downstairs”.

For a minute, nobody moved, nobody spoke. I felt every muscle in my body tense.

“Reporters?” Derek repeated.

Claire nodded nervously “they want comments regarding the missing funds”

My blood ran cold. The missing funds story was already out? How?

The police haven't even completed an investigation, yet somehow reporters already knew

Dad slowly pushed back his chair. For a brief moment, he looked furious.

Then his expression changed into confusion and pain. His hand moved to his chest, everything happened at once, his face lost colour. The chair tipped backward.

“Dad” I called as I stood on my feet instantly.

The next second, he stumbled and collapsed. The sound of his body hitting the floor echoed through the room.

For a brief horrible moment, nobody moved, then chaos erupted .

“Dad!” I dropped beside him. His eyes were closed, his breathing was shallow.

“Dad look at me” I cried out as I kept on tapping and shaking him, but there was no response.

A raw-violent fear crashed through me. The kind that made it impossible to think.

Derek was already reaching for his phone. Someone shouted for an ambulance. People rushed into the room, but all I could see was my father lying motionless on the floor.

And as I held his hand, a terrible realization settled over me. The missing money wasn't just the beginning of our problems, it was the beginning of our nightmare.