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CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Penulis: Emelda Martins
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-11 16:25:29

Alexander's POV

I couldn't stop thinking about Lily at the gallery Sunday night and the way she'd looked at me with fury and something else I couldn't name.

So instead of sleeping I went back to Richard's personal office at 2 AM and unlocked the drawer with Elena's letters.

I'd read some of them before, but tonight I needed to understand what Richard had been trying to tell me about love, choices, and regret.

The earliest letters were full of hope and plans for a future together.

Elena, I've been thinking about that house you loved in Coconut Grove. The one with the art studio in the back. I called the realtor today. It's available and I want to buy it for us. Picture it – you painting while I work from home, both of us building something real instead of just chasing success.

Richard had wanted a life with Elena that was about more than business and legacy.

My sister came by today and saw your painting on my wall. She asked pointed questions about who the artist was and I made the mis
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  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

    Lily's POVThe boardroom was packed at 10 AM on Friday morning with every member present, plus our lawyers and Diana Chen, our forensic accountant.Alexander and I had spent the early morning reviewing our presentation one last time and now we stood at the front of the room together.Robert Hartley looked confused seeing us side by side instead of at opposite ends of the table."Before we begin I want to clarify something," I said. "Alexander and I are presenting this evidence together as partners. What we've uncovered affects the entire company and we've worked jointly to investigate it."Several board members exchanged glances but nobody said anything.Alexander pulled up the first slide showing the shell company network. "Over the past month, we discovered systematic embezzlement totaling $183 million. The theft was coordinated by three executives working together to hide their crimes."I took over explaining the timeline. "It started three years ago with the creation of fake consu

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

    Alexander's POVLily walked into the conference room at 9 AM on Friday morning, and I knew immediately something had changed by the way she looked at me.Not hostile exactly but not as guarded as she'd been yesterday when she'd accused me of framing Victor."We need to talk before the board meeting," she said quietly.I followed her to Richard's private office and closed the door while she pulled out her laptop."I spent last night researching Victor Walter. Every business deal, every partnership, every lawsuit from the past fifteen years." She opened files showing pages of notes and highlighted articles. "You were right about him. He's destroyed every company he's claimed to help."Relief flooded through me so intensely that I had to sit down. "So you're not taking his offer?""I canceled our meeting this morning. Told him I needed more time to prepare for the board presentation." She showed me the text exchange with Victor. "He tried to pressure me into deciding quickly. Classic man

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

    Lily's POVI couldn't sleep Thursday night because my mind kept spinning between Victor's offer and Alexander's warnings.At 2 AM, I gave up on sleep and pulled out my laptop to conduct my own research on Victor Walter, as I was tired of taking everyone else's word for things.I started with basic searches about Walter Development and found dozens of articles praising Victor's business acumen and philanthropic work.On the surface, he looked exactly like the successful mentor he'd presented himself as.But I'd learned from my art forgery experience that surfaces could be deceiving.So I dug deeper, looking for patterns and inconsistencies, the way I would study a painting for signs of fraud.Three hours later I'd found things that made my stomach twist.Victor's company had been involved in seven major deals over the past decade and five of them had ended badly for his partners.A hotel chain that merged with Walter Development went bankrupt eighteen months after the merger.A tech st

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER FIFTY

    Alexander's POVI couldn't believe Lily was actually considering Victor's merger offer after everything we'd discovered.After I left Richard's office on Thursday afternoon, I called James immediately."Victor approached Lily with a merger proposal. She's actually thinking about accepting it.""What?" James sounded shocked. "After we found evidence he's behind everything?""She doesn't believe the evidence. She thinks I might be framing him." My voice was bitter. "Apparently everyone in her life is telling her to trust Victor over me.""Can you blame them? You did spend three weeks trying to destroy her." James sighed. "Alexander, from her perspective you're the one who's hurt her. Victor's just being charming and offering solutions.""Solutions that will let him destroy Thompson Enterprises from the inside." I paced my office. "I need to make her understand what Victor really is.""How? She doesn't trust you enough to believe your warnings."That was the problem and I didn't have a g

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

    Lily's POVVictor Walter called my cell phone Thursday morning at 7 AM before I'd even gotten to the office."Miss Rose, I hope I'm not calling too early. I heard some concerning news about Thompson Enterprises and wanted to reach out."I was still in my apartment getting dressed and his call immediately put me on edge."What news are you referring to Mr. Walter?""Word on the street is you're dealing with significant financial irregularities. Embezzlement possibly?" His voice was smooth and concerned. "I know how devastating that can be for a young CEO trying to establish credibility."My stomach dropped because the embezzlement investigation wasn't public yet and Victor shouldn't know about it unless someone told him."I can't comment on internal company matters.""Of course not. But Lily, if I may speak candidly, I'm worried about you." He paused for effect. "Thompson Enterprises has been unstable since Richard's death, and now with financial scandals emerging, you're in an impos

  • Love in the Shadows of Legacy   CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

    Alexander's POVDiana called at 11 PM Wednesday night with the final piece of evidence we'd been waiting for."I traced the last of the embezzled funds. They were funneled through Victor Walter's offshore accounts and then reinvested back into Thompson Enterprises as loans." Her voice was triumphant. "He stole your money and then loaned it back to you at predatory interest rates."I was in Richard's office with Lily, reviewing tomorrow's board presentation, and we both froze when we heard Diana's words on the speakerphone."Say that again," Lily said."Victor Walter has been running a circular scheme. Marcus, David, and Jonathan steal money through fake consulting fees. That money goes to Victor's shell companies. Victor then loans it back to Thompson Enterprises at high interest through the debt instruments we discovered." Diana was clearly excited about solving the puzzle. "He's been making money off both ends while positioning the company for bankruptcy."After she hung up Lily and

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