Numbers Don't Lie Novels & Stories

🌿 Rider's Point of View Present time Silence can be dressed in cheap perfume. People can wrap lies in charm. But numbers? They stand naked, no matter how you try to clothe them. They didn't lie. They never did. I leaned back in my chair, my eyes narrowing at the report glowing across my screen. The missing money and inventory bled slowly, a paper cut that festered until infection showed. It was a bleed small enough to pass unnoticed for weeks, maybe months, but patterns always revealed themselves eventually.

“I don’t know why it isn’t working again. It’s very new.” I quickly looked away nervously. The printer got spoiled in my hand. I’m too afraid to tell them. What if they remove it from my salary to buy another one? “Don’t worry, they don’t care,” Jane grinned and looked at a paper. “So, Lisa, pick any number.” “Number one,” I waved. Jane’s smile deepened and she blushed. “Is your ex-boyfriend good in bed and how many inches?” I froze and suddenly felt uncomfortable. “Ahhh... let’s not talk about that. He’s not good and he’s two inches and a minute man,” I said that to brush the topic aside.

“Fine. That’s your wish list. Here’s my problem.” I ticked off points with my fingers. “One: you’ve lied to everyone at this table at least twice in the last decade. Two: you orchestrated the biggest medical disinformation campaign since invention of tobacco. Three: you’re underplaying the danger from Gianni because you believe he’s manageable. Four: you’ve left out something important, because crooks like you never show all their cards at once.” Lucia smiled faintly. “How flattering to hear all this shit from you,” she said.

“I have no need to lie.” He picked up a few pages and offered them to me. “You should be getting several calls about the change in your financiers.” My jaw trembled as I looked at the pages, but I didn’t take them. I recognized the first four account numbers and loaners. The rest I didn’t, but I felt in my gut he wasn’t lying. Then, my phone started ringing and chiming. I lifted the phone to my ear as an automated voice began to speak.

POV: Adrian Adrian had spent the entire night refusing to say Elena's name aloud. He had said it once. Only once. After that, he forced himself back into numbers. Numbers were safer. Numbers didn't betray you. Numbers didn't leave handwritten letters in empty bedrooms. Numbers didn't look at you with tired eyes and say, I needed you to tell me the truth. He sat alone in his office as the city woke outside the glass windows. Meridian was gone. Laurent Holdings had taken it.

"You’ve spent your life hiding the truth in the numbers, Mr. Vane. But I’ve seen the 'Golden Empire's' work in the North End. The youth centers, the medical trusts... you’re not as cold as your spreadsheets would suggest. You’re just better at balancing the emotional debt than most." Julian’s expression didn't shift, but I saw the subtle tightening of his jaw a sign of recognition. "The numbers are just a tool, Miss Thorne. Sometimes they’re used to hide a scar; sometimes they’re used to secure a future. I believe we are both in the business of the latter."

I wipe my face with the face of my hand. "I can track memory when I touch a phone, and he isn't lying," he states, and I am just too sad to even question how true that is. "Dawn, for what it's worth, the last number is eight, not zero," he stands up and leaves. ***

He shuts the laptop. His phone buzzes once on the table. Unknown number. You’re good at pretending none of this matters. Another buzz. Same number. But I know what you look like when you’re lying. Liam stares at the screen. He doesn’t know how Noah got his number. But he knows exactly what the hell he's talking about.

“Don’t take my word for it, Ava... but I have a feeling that my family hid something here.” The young woman was filled with anxiety; she longed to know everything that place hid because she knew that Daniel always avoided certain questions, and more importantly... She needed to know if she would find out the reason behind so many red numbers in Interstellar Company.

Secrets plural, in fact. Olivia: He refuses to say anything Masked Number: Of course, he does. Olivia: Tell me what it is Masked Number: It would not be entertaining if I were to. And I'm certain that Ash would rather continue to bask in his own lies as he has been. Olivia: He says he's not lying to me Masked Number: A great manipulator would not only say they aren't lying but also assure you they are unable to lie. Ash has lied to you. I know him. I also know he is lying to you and that he will continue.