Senior Prime Enterprise officials, who had watched the catastrophe silently, started whispering to one another while the room was still buzzing from the investors' departure. They were clearly confused and shocked, and their hushed discussions revealed how difficult it was for them all to understand how things had fallen apart so quickly. "I am baffled as to how this could have occurred," muttered a senior manager, his brow furrowed in serious concern. "The figures were stable just a few weeks ago. How could things have gone so wrong so quickly?""It does not add up," a second senior executive said, a hint of doubt in his voice. "I have been reviewing the finances every day, and nothing indicated that we might be in this much trouble. It seems almost like the numbers have been altered by someone.""Tampered with?" inquired a third executive, his voice hinting at disbelief. "Who would dare? And above all, why? This could ruin us!"The senior members of the company continued to specul
Jude walked quickly down Prime Enterprise's lengthy hallway, leaving an empty trail behind him. The worried look on his face vanished as soon as he was out of sight, to be replaced by a cunning, content smile. As he got closer to the isolated, poorly lit parking lot where a sleek black car was waiting for him, he reached into his pocket and took out his phone, typing a brief message.Jude managed to get a glimpse of Ms. Beauty's calculating and piercing eyes as the car window rolled down slightly. Leaning back in her seat, she read Jude's message, her face lit softly by the interior car lights.Her tone was tinged with icy humor as she inquired, "So, how did it go?"Jude put his phone back in his pocket with a sly smile. "Exactly as we had hoped, Miss Beauty. The board is completely disorganized, and the investors were incensed. They do not know what hit them."Beauty smiled sinisterly, her lips curling. "Well done. Very good. I knew that their panic would keep them from asking you al
In his office, Sebastian paced back and forth in, the weight of the situation pressing down on his shoulders. He was aware of the growing pressure and that each minute they continued to ask questions, the possibility of catastrophe increased. He inhaled deeply before picking up the phone and contacting Anthony.On the second ring, Anthony picked up the phone, sounding alert and vigorous. "Yes, boss, what is the update?"With a hint of annoyance in his voice, Sebastian said, "We are hitting a dead end here." "A delivery man appears in some video, but it is too grainy to positively identify him. I need you and your team to look into it. See if you can improve it or find anything we may have overlooked."Anthony did not hesitate. "Okay, boss, send it over. We will start working on it immediately.”Sebastian knew that Anthony was the one who could find the truth, so he uploaded the video and sent it over a secure line. He ended the call and went to the big window that overlooked the city.
Anthony poured over files, scanned documents, and went over every detail they had regarding the indistinct figure from the video footage for the remainder of the night. His hands were typing methodically on the keyboard, his eyes bloodshot, his mind racing with urgency. The video remained visible on the main screen, albeit grainy and incredibly confusing. His group had improved it somewhat, but not enough to offer a clear identification.He muttered under his breath, "Come on... come on," as he flipped between databases, cross-referencing the security personnel details, employee records, and contractor lists with the video footage. After a brief pause, he brought up the profile of Jacob Ben, a name that had surfaced a few times during their search but had not yet caught his attention. . His online profile portrayed him as a tall, slender man with an unremarkable face who would fit right in with any crowd. Anthony fixed his gaze on the picture, then the video again, mentally compari
Beauty closed her office door and pulled the phone up to her ear to carry on her conversation with the unidentified caller. She returned to her desk and spoke in a tone that was both cool and shrewd."Yeah, the foundation is being established," she said, her voice somewhat acerbic. "I have been spreading the word that Sebastian might resign as a result of pressure from the board. Already, senior executives are talking about it. As some people are already beginning to lose it, that is precisely what we require."As she said, "Good, good," there was a slight laugh on the other end of the line. What we want is panic. We need them perplexed and anxious. It will weaken Sebastian’s support within the company."Beauty smirked, relishing the prospect of the chaos she was unleashing. "Precisely. However, I need Jude to delve deeper. I require more leverage. The more dirt we get on Sebastian, the easier it will be to push him out.The phone voice lowered conspiratorially, "Jude has proven to be
In his office, Anthony paced back and forth while a paused video still played on the screen in front of him. His gaze lingered on the image, a hazy figure captured on security footage from Prime Enterprises' parking. After days of work by his investigative team, he was finally able to make out a unique tattoo on the subject's left wrist. The design was straightforward but striking, featuring a snake encircling a dagger. Anthony was aware that he had previously seen that tattoo, but where?A faint knock distracted him from his thoughts. "Come in," he called out, his gaze still focused on the screen. A junior investigator, Mike, entered the room, holding a tablet."Sir, I believe we have made progress in identifying the person in the video," Mike said in a steady voice. “I ran a search on tattoos with that design, the snake and the dagger. It’s pretty unique, and it led us straight to Jacob Ben.”Anthony's expression changed from one of curiosity to triumph as his head snapped up. He
Sitting at her desk, Abigail pretended to be focused on her work, but her thoughts were elsewhere in the room. Jude had been acting strangely for weeks now, and she was becoming more and more convinced every day that he had ulterior motives. Everything suggested that he was not just a disgruntled worker spreading untrue rumors about Sebastian, including the whispers, sidelong glances, and suspicious absences. She had overheard enough of Jude's chats to know that he was planting doubt in the minds of the junior staff, whispering with a thoughtless smile that concealed something far darker about the president's imminent resignation. Still, she required evidence, something tangible that would link him to the forces opposing Sebastian, in spite of everything she had observed. She remained at a distance, waiting for him to make a mistake, and biding her time.Her gaze strayed to Jude as he emerged from the staff lounge, a sly smile hanging over his features. She observed him walking dow
Abigail's gaze never left Jude while he faltered to stabilize himself. What had been his usual arrogant manner had given way to a twitchy nervousness. She could almost see the gears in his head turning as they frantically tried to figure out how to get out of this situation.Jude finally said, his voice strangely calm, "Jacob Ben is just a friend." "We have a very long history together. Nothing more or less than that."Abigail's eyebrow went up. "Do you mean a friend?" She moved a step closer, her voice hinting at suspicion. "So why were you talking about documents? And why did you seem to be so concerned about them?"Jude answered after a brief moment of hesitation, "Oh, that. Nothing major, just some private matters to attend to. I am getting some help from Jacob with some legal paperwork. There is no connection between the president or the Enterprise."Unconvinced, Abigail crossed her arms. "Legal paperwork?" she repeated in a doubtful tone. "You mentioned something about forged do