Chapter 5 - The Friend Who Knew Too Much
Emily stood under the awning of Harrison Tower until rain soaked the hem of her pants.
Do not meet Ava.
She read it five times.
Then Ava’s text again.
I copied the acquisition packet last night. The full version.
Her mind split in two.
One half remembered Ava bringing her soup when she had the flu, Ava staying late to help her reconcile impossible ledgers, Ava texting her every year on the anniversary of her father’s death.
The other half remembered Linda’s warning.
Your father didn’t burn the folder.
Emily had learned one thing that morning.
Trust was expensive.
And she was almost broke.
A black sedan slowed near the curb.
Emily stepped back.
The rear window lowered.
Richard Harrison sat inside.
“Get in,” he said.
Emily stared at him.
“No.”
“Emily—”
“You lied to me about Vanessa.”
Richard flinched.
“I omitted details.”
“That’s what guilty people call lying.”
Rain dotted his suit through the open window.
“You are not safe standing there.”
“I’m not safe with you either.”
His driver looked straight ahead.
Richard opened the door himself and stepped into the rain.
For a CEO worth billions, he suddenly looked old.
Tired.
Human.
“Your father came to me twelve years ago,” he said. “He believed Westbridge was being used to move money through medical contracts. I told him to bring me proof.”
Emily’s chest tightened.
“And did he?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
“I gave it to Arthur Bell.”
Emily’s stomach dropped.
Richard closed his eyes.
“I thought I was doing the right thing. Arthur was chairman. My mentor. My father’s closest friend. I trusted him.”
“And then my father died.”
“Yes.”
The rain seemed louder.
Emily whispered, “You helped kill him.”
Richard’s face broke.
“I have lived with that possibility for twelve years.”
“That must have been uncomfortable for you.”
“I deserve that.”
“You deserve worse.”
“Yes.”
Emily turned to walk away.
Richard said, “Vanessa was Arthur’s protégé.”
She stopped.
“She wasn’t powerful then,” Richard continued. “But she was already working with him. Quietly. Strategically. By the time I realized your father’s files were gone, Arthur had buried everything.”
Emily turned back.
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“Because I had no evidence. And because Arthur made it clear that if I pushed, he would destroy Harrison Global and everyone in it.”
“Coward.”
“Yes,” Richard said.
The honesty hurt more than denial would have.
Emily looked toward the street.
“Who called the FBI today?”
Richard hesitated.
“I did.”
Emily stared at him.
“This morning?”
“No. Three weeks ago.”
“What?”
“I reopened an internal inquiry after Brighton appeared on Vanessa’s acquisition list. Your audit report confirmed what I suspected. I sent the FBI enough to make them pay attention. You gave them enough to act.”
Emily absorbed that slowly.
“So you used me.”
Richard’s voice was quiet.
“I hoped you would never be involved.”
“But I was.”
“Yes.”
“And now I’m the target.”
“Yes.”
A horn blared nearby.
Emily’s phone buzzed again.
Ava.
Please answer. I’m scared.
Emily showed Richard the texts.
He frowned.
“I don’t know whether Ava is compromised.”
“I do.”
He looked at her.
“I’m meeting her.”
“That could be a trap.”
“It could also be the only copy of the truth.”
Richard glanced around.
“Then don’t go alone.”
Emily almost laughed.
“With you?”
“With someone Arthur doesn’t control.”
At seven that evening, Emily entered the abandoned train station through a side door.
Richard had arranged private security, but Emily made them wait two blocks away.
She needed Ava to trust her.
The station smelled of dust, rust, and rain.
Broken benches lined the walls.
Old departure boards hung above the tracks.
“Ava?” Emily called softly.
No answer.
She walked deeper inside.
Her phone flashlight swept across graffiti and shattered tiles.
Then she saw Ava near Track 3.
She was sitting on the floor, back against a column.
Her blouse was torn.
Her lip was bleeding.
Emily ran.
“Ava!”
Ava grabbed her wrist.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Emily froze.
“For what?”
Ava began crying.
“They made me give them your access logs.”
Emily pulled back.
“Who?”
“Linda. Vanessa. Arthur’s people. I didn’t know what it was at first. They said you were stealing data. They said you were unstable.”
Emily’s throat tightened.
“You believed them?”
“No. Not after I saw the packet.”
Ava reached into her coat and pulled out a small drive.
“This has everything. The real acquisition files. The edited ones. The access records. And something else.”
“What?”
Ava swallowed.
“Your father’s name.”
A sound echoed behind them.
A slow clap.
Emily turned.
Arthur Bell stepped out of the shadows.
Seventy-one.
Silver hair.
Tailored coat.
Chairman of the board.
The man in the old photograph.
May you like
He smiled like a grandfather at a family dinner.
“Thomas Parker’s daughter,” he said warmly. “All grown up.”
