Chapter 1

Celeste's POV

“I'll definitely take care of it all. Just focus on finding the money we need.” Yuna assured me.

I sniffed, cleaning the tears that fell from my eyes.

“Okay,” I replied, cutting the call.

My hand fell, and I held on tighter to the railings, letting the tears fall. I had never thought it would end up like this.

I had taken over my company with full hopes of reviving it, who knew I would be the one to destroy it?

But even so, I still wanted to believe that I wasn't wrong about her.

Willow didn't do all these intentionally, there must be something wrong somewhere. Maybe she was even kidnapped. But I was drowning. The lawsuit is less than two days away, and she's still yet to show up.

I had thought I would be able to manage it. It was two weeks since the incident happened but the memory still played in my head like it was yesterday.

"Miss. Celeste” the employees greeted me as soon as I walked in.

I thought it would have been like any normal day. But I was wrong. I should have known from the employees' avoidant gazes to their whispers. Everything showed that something was going on but I ignored it.

I only hurried on my steps, pushing the door to the meeting room. Yuna paced around the meeting table. Tyler sat still in one of the chairs, his expression unreadable. They were so absorbed that they didn't even notice I had walked in.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sensing the mood. Tyler's head snapped up immediately. Yuna rushed to me, her body trembling.

Yuna held my head, pulling me towards the table. "You're finally here."

She stretched her hand out, arranging the files that were scattered on the table, more clearly for me to see.

My heart skipped a beat as I read the content.

A letter from a lawyer inviting us to court for using inferior materials for building. My fingers curled around the table's edge, eyes twitching.

The pictures showed my employees purchasing from an uncertified seller.

This wasn't just a complaint, this was an already won lawsuit. And it didn't favour me.

I raised my head slowly, my eyes drifting from Yuna to Tyler. Why would I have these on my table in just one night? And it wasn't just one… three? Three solid complaints with evidence to back it up.

This isn't just a lawsuit that could bring down the company; it could send the entire board to jail.

"At first. I had the same thought as you. It was a scheme." Tyler paused, looking deep into my eyes, the disbelief still strong in his gaze.

"Not until I got the letter from the lawyer, with solid evidence in it. After that, more and more people came to the company, demanding refunds and threatening lawsuits." He took a deep breath.

"I don't see a way to solve this," Tyler said, and my head throbbed as I thought of what he said.

"Miss. What should we do?" Yuna asked, fumbling with her fingers. She seemed more scared than I was.

I took a deep breath, trying my best to calm myself.

How did this happen? Even with my father who had almost left the company bankrupt, his issues weren't as big as this.

I ran a hand through, heaving heavily. The thought hit me. I looked down at the papers again and a small smile cracked on my face. Maybe this wasn't unsolvable.

"Where's Millie?" I raised my head, looking between the two. Tyler's brows arched upwards, the realization hitting him.

I turned to Yuna but all she did was sigh, her head hung low.

"I already realized all this when I checked the papers. But Millie is not reachable." She said,

My brows knitted together. "What?" I spoke, killing the idea that was forming in my head.

"It's exactly what you're thinking about," Yuna spoke, her voice barely audible. She also seemed not to believe it was possible.

"I still talked to her last night. There's no way she could have—" I couldn't finish my words when the door was pushed open.

"Yuna. There's a massive deficit from the company's funds." Kelvin, the financial director rushed in.

Kelvin laid his laptop on the table, his hands playing with the keys. My eyes widened at the words I was seeing.

I moved closer, my lashes brushing against the screen but the numbers didn't change. 30 million dollars was missing.

Thirty!

I fell backwards, landing hard against the chair, and pain surged through my body but I couldn't help it.

First the complaints, now this.

Who did this? How did it happen? I asked myself, questions ringing in my head. I had promised to bring the company to one of the best when I joined.

Now?

Now, I was about to put myself and the entire board in jail.

"Miss." Yuna rushed to my side. "We are still trying to figure something out." She said, eyes pleading for me to hold on.

I scanned the entire room. Kelvin and Tyler's faces told me all I needed to know. I shook my head, sitting up straight.

"Millie must have done this,” Tyler murmured.

I blinked. Millie?

Memories of us flashed through my eyes, and somehow I still couldn't see that smile as fake. Millie was the one who encouraged me when I first started. How could she leave me in such a whirlpool?

I looked up and sighed, raising myself to my fight. I didn't have time to reel in the news.

I had to act fast..

Huffing up, I spoke. "Tyler, use your connections to ask everyone in town. You have to find Millie. Kelvin, figure out how much we would have to pay the families who have sent their complaints. Yuna, try to contact each one of the clients and propose a settlement outside of court."

I paused. My eyes scanned through their faces, waiting for me to continue. "I'll try my best to make sure the Horton family doesn't figure out what's happening."

The trio nodded, walking out of the office, I fell backwards, my heart throbbing heavily against my chest.

How am I supposed to keep this covered? Why would Millie ever do that? How did she pull it off?

The door suddenly pushed open, Yuna walked in. That expression on her face when I had first arrived was back.

"What's wrong?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

"There's another one. But this is more severe." Yuna spoke, her voice shaky. I rose to my feet, my eyes twitching intensely, my head raced with different possibilities but it didn't prepare me for what she would say next.

"It involves a life.”