Trial 4

It’s strange, how quickly a day can shift from something routine into something that feels like you’re sinking into quicksand. I had been preparing to meet with a few of Dominic Hayes’ key employees—people who were supposed to be integral to his company’s success—and I’d hoped that they might provide a clearer picture of the man I was working for. But I knew that the deeper I dug, the more uncomfortable the answers would become.

There was something about this case that felt off. It wasn’t just the financial discrepancies or the hidden transactions; it was the unease in the air. The look in people’s eyes when I mentioned Dominic’s name. It wasn’t outright fear, but a nervousness—a reluctance to say too much. Maybe I was just being paranoid. After all, I had worked in law long enough to know that sometimes a little hesitation could mean a person was hiding something big.

I arrived at the office of Hayes Enterprises for my meeting with Oliver Granger, the company’s Chief Operating Officer. If there was anyone who might have insight into how things worked on the ground level, it was him. He had been with Dominic for almost fifteen years and had been instrumental in expanding the company’s operations internationally.

The receptionist greeted me with a thin smile, and within moments, I was ushered into a large conference room on the 30th floor, overlooking the city skyline. Granger was already there, his back to me as he peered out of the window, his broad shoulders tense under the tailored suit. He turned when I entered, offering a smile that was professional but lacking any real warmth.

“Ms. Caldwell,” he said with a firm handshake. “I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s a pleasure to meet the woman tasked with cleaning up Dominic’s mess.”

I forced a smile, though there was nothing pleasant about the situation. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I hope we can clear some things up today.”

He gestured to the chair across from him. “I’m sure we can. Dominic is a good man. A little misguided at times, but a good man nonetheless.”

I took my seat, folding my hands on the table. I was growing accustomed to the way people seemed to speak about Dominic—a careful balance between respect and suspicion. No one seemed to talk about him without choosing their words carefully, as though they feared saying too much.

“Let’s get straight to it,” I said, cutting through the pleasantries. “I’ve been reviewing the financial records and I’ve come across a few things I’d like to ask you about.”

Granger’s expression shifted, just slightly. He straightened in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. “What exactly are you asking, Ms. Caldwell?”

“There are some irregular payments to companies that seem to be either non-existent or have no real operations. I’m also seeing signs of misappropriated funds in some of the international accounts. Can you explain why some of these transactions are listed as ‘confidential’ or ‘pending approval,’ but no one seems to have any record of them?”

He leaned back, a subtle smile tugging at his lips. “You’re thorough, I’ll give you that. But what you’re looking at is just business as usual. There are plenty of legitimate reasons for some of these deals to be structured this way.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

He was silent for a moment, and I could see his mind working, calculating how much to reveal. It was obvious that Granger had a reputation for being a man who could handle a crisis with calculated charm, but I wasn’t easily swayed by appearances. I had seen enough people like him in my time to know when they were hiding something.

“Some of the deals are… sensitive,” he finally said. “Business, especially at the level we’re talking about, isn’t always as transparent as you’d like it to be.”

I let his words sink in for a moment. Sensitive? That was the kind of term people used when they didn’t want to give any concrete details. But I pressed on.

“I understand that,” I said, my voice steady. “But this doesn’t feel like just business. It feels like a cover-up. A way to hide something from the public eye.”

Granger’s eyes narrowed slightly, and I could sense the shift in the room. For a moment, the polished veneer of professionalism cracked, revealing something more guarded, more wary. “You’ve got to be careful with that kind of thinking, Ms. Caldwell. This isn’t a small operation. If you start throwing around accusations like that, it could get messy.”

“I’m not accusing anyone,” I said, keeping my tone neutral. “I’m just looking for the truth.”

His gaze softened, but there was an edge to it now. “And I’ll tell you what I can. But there are things you don’t understand. Things that are bigger than you or me.”

I could feel the weight of his words, though I wasn’t sure what he was hinting at. His cryptic remark only served to raise more questions. It was almost as if he was trying to warn me off, or perhaps discourage me from digging any deeper.

Before I could respond, the door to the room opened, and a younger woman in her thirties walked in. She was tall, with dark hair tied back in a neat ponytail and a no-nonsense expression on her face. Granger looked at her, then back at me.

“I’m afraid our time’s up for today,” he said, standing up. “But I’m sure we’ll have plenty more to discuss.”

I stood as well, my mind racing with the implications of the meeting. Granger’s evasive answers only seemed to strengthen my suspicions. But it was clear I wasn’t going to get any more from him—not today.

“Thank you for your time,” I said, offering a polite smile, though I could feel the tension in the air. “I’ll be in touch.”

As I left the room, I caught a glimpse of the woman who had entered—Granger’s assistant, no doubt—and she gave me a curt nod, though there was something unreadable in her expression. I had the distinct feeling that she knew more than she was letting on.

---

The following days were a blur of meetings and phone calls, but nothing I uncovered seemed to point in any one direction. I spoke to more of Dominic’s high-ranking employees, each one more guarded than the last. There was Oliver Granger, who seemed to be perpetually trying to shield Dominic from the truth. Then there was Claire Peterson, the head of marketing, who spoke with a kind of practiced enthusiasm about Dominic’s “vision,” but never seemed to offer any insight into the financial discrepancies I had uncovered.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something—something big. Each person I spoke with seemed to know only what was necessary to their role, and each of them spoke of Dominic in glowing terms. But there was always something in their eyes, some flicker of hesitation, that made me wonder whether they were trying to protect him or themselves.

Then came the final straw—the moment that confirmed that this wasn’t just corporate mismanagement. It was something far darker.

I was going over some of the emails from the past year, cross-referencing them with the financial reports, when I came across something that made my blood run cold. A thread of emails between Dominic’s Chief Legal Officer, a woman named Emily Richards, and a private offshore account manager. The subject line read: Urgent Transfer Request: Hayes Enterprises Funds—Approval Needed.

I clicked on the email, my heart racing. This wasn’t just a simple business transaction. The wording in the email suggested something far more nefarious, a movement of large sums of money to an account that didn’t belong to the company. It was signed off with an instruction for immediate approval, and the timestamp was just days before the scandal had broken.

I knew I had just uncovered a massive piece of the puzzle—but the question was, what was Dominic’s role in this? Was he complicit, or had someone within his inner circle betrayed him? And more importantly, could I trust the people I was working with to help me uncover the full truth?

I closed my laptop, sitting back in my chair. There was no going back now. The pieces were falling into place, and what I had uncovered so far was only the beginning. It seemed like every new piece of information led me to a deeper layer of deceit, and the more I uncovered, the more I realized just how far the corruption ran.

This was no longer just about saving Dominic Hayes. It was about exposing a conspiracy that could ruin everything.

And I was going to get to the bottom of it—no matter what it took.