CHAPTER 3: A SECRET WORTH MILLIONS

Amelia had never imagined that a small black flash drive could be worth more than her entire life.

She stood in Alexander Blackwood's office, staring at the photograph on his laptop.

The message beneath it remained in her mind.

SHE HAS SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO US. MAKE SURE SHE DOESN'T TALK.

Someone knew she had taken something.

Someone had followed her home.

And now, the man she had watched standing over a dead body was telling her that he intended to protect her.

She wasn't sure which possibility frightened her more.

"Who are these people?" she asked.

Alexander sat behind his desk, his fingers resting against the edge of his laptop.

"That's what I'm trying to establish."

"You're the owner of one of the biggest companies in the country. You have security teams, lawyers, and enough money to buy half the city. How can you not know who's threatening you?"

His eyes lifted towards her.

"Money doesn't make people trustworthy, Miss Carter."

"Apparently, it doesn't make them intelligent either."

One of the security guards shifted near the door.

Alexander didn't.

He simply studied her for a moment.

"You have a habit of speaking without thinking."

"And you have a habit of avoiding questions."

A faint, humorless smile touched his mouth.

"Perhaps we're going to have a difficult relationship."

"There's not going to be a relationship. I'm leaving."

She reached for the door.

"Amelia."

His voice stopped her.

It was the first time he had used her first name.

She turned reluctantly.

"Sit down. There's something you need to understand."

This time, she sat.

Alexander opened a folder and removed several documents.

He placed them on the desk, turning the first page towards her.

Amelia looked at the papers.

There were numbers, company names, bank transactions, and signatures.

She recognized none of them.

"What am I looking at?"

"Blackwood International's financial records."

She frowned.

"I don't understand."

"For the past eighteen months, millions of dollars have been transferred from several company accounts into businesses that don't officially exist."

Amelia looked up.

"Someone has been stealing from you?"

"That's one possibility."

"What's the other?"

Alexander leaned back.

"That someone has been using my company to finance illegal operations."

She stared at him.

"What kind of operations?"

"Money laundering. Bribery. Payments to officials. Possibly something worse."

Her mouth went dry.

"Are you saying your company is involved in criminal activities?"

"I'm saying someone has been making it appear that way."

"That's a very convenient explanation."

His expression hardened.

"You think I would allow someone to steal millions from my own company?"

"I don't know what you would allow. I watched two men drag a body out of a room last night while you stood there covered in blood."

For the first time, Alexander looked genuinely angry.

He stood and walked towards the window.

"Richard Hale discovered the transfers three months ago. He brought the matter to me privately."

"Why didn't he report it?"

"Because he believed the person responsible was someone I trusted."

Amelia waited.

Alexander turned around.

"He was right."

The room seemed to grow colder.

"Who?"

"My older brother."

Amelia blinked.

"You have a brother?"

"His name is Sebastian Blackwood. He's thirty-seven and serves as the company's vice chairman."

She remembered seeing photographs of the Blackwood family in magazines.

Alexander was often described as the self-made billionaire who had taken over his family's struggling business and transformed it into an international empire.

But she had never heard much about his brother.

"What happened between you?"

"That's not relevant."

"It seems very relevant if he's stealing from your company."

Alexander's jaw tightened.

"Sebastian and I have different ideas about how the company should be run."

"Different ideas? Or is he committing crimes?"

He looked at her.

"That's what Richard was trying to prove."

Amelia lowered her eyes to the documents.

There was something frightening about this situation.

The man who had supposedly built his business through intelligence and hard work might have been betrayed by someone who shared his blood.

Or perhaps Alexander was simply trying to shift the blame.

She couldn't tell.

"Why did Richard die?" she asked.

Alexander returned to his chair.

"On the night he died, he was supposed to meet me privately. He told me he had found the final piece of evidence."

"The flash drive?"

"Possibly."

"Did you see him before he died?"

"Yes."

Amelia's heart began to beat faster.

"What happened?"

"We argued."

"About what?"

"He accused me of protecting the person responsible."

She stared at him.

"Were you?"

Alexander didn't answer.

He looked down at the papers, his expression unreadable.

"Richard had been working for my father before he joined the company. He knew things about my family that should have remained buried."

"Such as?"

"That's enough."

Amelia shook her head.

"No. You don't get to tell me I'm in danger and then refuse to explain why."

He slowly raised his eyes.

"You're asking questions about a family that has spent decades hiding its secrets."

"And I'm the one being threatened because of them."

"Which is why you should listen carefully."

He leaned forward.

"The flash drive may contain evidence linking senior executives, government officials, and members of my family to financial crimes. If it reaches the wrong hands, Blackwood International could lose its contracts, its investors could withdraw their money, and thousands of employees could lose their jobs."

Amelia stared at him.

"Thousands?"

"More than twelve thousand people work for this company directly. Many more depend on it."

For a moment, she forgot about his expensive watch and his intimidating office.

Those were real people.

People with children, rent, bills, and families.

People who could lose everything because powerful men had decided that money mattered more than honesty.

"And if the evidence is real?" she asked.

Alexander's expression didn't change.

"Then the people responsible should face the consequences."

"Even if you're one of them?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Especially if I'm one of them."

She wasn't sure whether she believed him.

A knock sounded at the door.

Victoria entered carrying a tablet.

"Mr. Blackwood, your ten o'clock meeting has arrived."

"Cancel it."

"Sir, Mr. Sebastian Blackwood is already here."

Alexander's expression changed immediately.

It was subtle, but Amelia noticed.

His shoulders stiffened.

His fingers stopped moving.

"Tell him I'm busy."

Victoria hesitated.

"He says it's important."

"Then he can wait."

The woman nodded and disappeared.

Amelia looked at Alexander.

"Your brother?"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he picked up the documents and placed them inside a drawer.

A few seconds later, the office door opened again.

A man walked inside without knocking.

He was tall, well-dressed, and probably in his late thirties. His dark hair was brushed neatly backwards, and his expensive navy suit fitted him perfectly.

Unlike Alexander, he smiled easily.

But there was something unpleasant about the smile.

"Little brother," he said. "I heard you were having an interesting morning."

Alexander remained seated.

"Get out, Sebastian."

Sebastian laughed softly.

"Still charming, I see."

His eyes moved towards Amelia.

"And who is this?"

Amelia felt uncomfortable beneath his gaze.

"Someone who doesn't belong here," she answered.

Sebastian smiled wider.

"I like her."

Alexander's expression became colder.

"She's not part of this conversation."

"Really? Then why is she sitting in your office?"

"That's none of your concern."

Sebastian walked towards the desk.

"You're becoming secretive, Alexander. It's not good for business."

"Neither is arriving uninvited."

The two brothers stared at each other.

For several seconds, neither moved.

Amelia could feel the hostility between them.

It wasn't ordinary sibling rivalry.

There was history here.

Painful history.

Sebastian finally turned towards the door.

"Father would be disappointed if he saw how you've handled things."

Alexander's face went completely still.

"Don't bring him into this."

Sebastian paused.

Then he smiled again.

"Of course. Some subjects are still difficult for you."

He left.

The door closed behind him.

Amelia looked at Alexander.

"Your brother knows about Richard's death?"

Alexander picked up his glass of water.

"Everyone in this building knows Richard is dead."

"That's not what I asked."

He took a slow drink.

"Sebastian is a very dangerous man."

"Because he's your brother?"

"Because he knows exactly where to hurt people."

Amelia remembered the photograph of Sebastian standing beside Alexander at a charity event.

They looked like a powerful family.

But something told her that the smiles in those photographs were only for the cameras.

A few minutes later, Alexander's phone rang.

He answered immediately.

"What?"

He listened.

His expression darkened.

"How long ago?"

Another pause.

"Find out who accessed the system. I want every security recording from the last twelve hours."

He ended the call.

"What happened?" Amelia asked.

"Someone attempted to access the company's private server last night."

"Was it Richard?"

"No. Richard's access was disabled after his death."

Alexander stood and walked to the window.

"The attempt came from inside this building."

Amelia felt a chill.

"Someone here is involved?"

"Apparently."

He turned towards her.

"There's something else."

She didn't like the way he said those words.

"What?"

"The person who tried to access the server used a security code that belongs to my office."

Amelia stared at him.

"Your personal security code?"

He nodded.

"Only four people have access to it."

"Who?"

"Me. My personal assistant. My head of security."

He paused.

"And Sebastian."

The silence that followed was heavy.

Amelia looked towards the office door.

She suddenly understood why Alexander trusted no one.

His enemy might be sitting at the next desk, drinking coffee and smiling at him.

Or it might be the man who shared his childhood memories.

"What was on the flash drive?" she whispered.

Alexander studied her.

"I don't know."

"Then how do you know it's so important?"

"Because Richard called me thirty minutes before he died."

Amelia's breath caught.

"What did he say?"

Alexander's eyes moved towards the dark city beyond the glass.

"He told me that the money wasn't the real secret."

Her fingers tightened around the arms of the chair.

"Then what was?"

Alexander remained silent for several seconds.

When he finally spoke, his voice was lower than before.

"Richard said the financial records were only the beginning. He had discovered a connection between the company, my father's death, and a secret that someone had spent fifteen years trying to bury."

Amelia felt as if the floor had shifted beneath her.

"Your father died fifteen years ago?"

"Yes."

"Was it an accident?"

Alexander looked directly at her.

"That's what everyone was told."

A terrible silence followed.

She thought about the dead man, the missing flash drive, Sebastian's strange smile, and the frightened expression she had seen on Richard's face.

This was no longer just about a stolen fortune.

It was about a death that might not have been an accident.

It was about a family built on secrets.

And somehow, the evidence was now connected to her.

Alexander walked towards his desk and pressed a button.

The security guards outside immediately entered.

"Take Miss Carter to the guest suite. Make sure no one approaches her without my permission."

Amelia stood.

"Wait. I'm not staying here."

"You can argue with me later."

"I have a mother in the hospital and a brother at home!"

"I've already arranged for someone to check on them."

Her eyes widened.

"You what?"

"Your family will be protected."

"You had no right to interfere in their lives."

His expression remained cold.

"And you had no idea what you were taking when you picked up that flash drive."

She stepped closer.

"Then tell me the truth!"

Alexander looked at her for a long moment.

Something almost like regret crossed his face.

Then it disappeared.

"Because if you speak about what you witnessed, Amelia, more than one life could be destroyed."

He glanced towards the closed office door.

"And I'm beginning to suspect that one of those lives belongs to someone in my own family."

Amelia's phone vibrated.

She looked down.

A new message had arrived from an unknown number.

This time, it wasn't a threat.

It was a photograph of a hospital room.

Her mother was lying in bed.

Beside the photograph were six words.

YOUR MOTHER KNOWS WHAT YOUR FATHER DID.

Amelia stopped breathing.

Her father had been dead for nine years.

So why were these people talking about him?

And what, exactly, had her mother been hiding?

For the first time, Amelia wondered whether her family had been connected to the Blackwoods long before she ever entered their hotel.

The secret worth millions was no longer just Alexander Blackwood's secret. It might have been hers all along.