Chapter 7: The Folder They Hid
I stared at the screen without speaking.
Malik was beside me, humming quietly to himself while he played with the zipper on his jacket.
Six months.
That was how long someone had apparently been planning to remove me from my own company.
Ethan's voice dropped.
“Do you want me to open it?””
I nodded.
“Open everything.””
His hand hovered over the mouse.
“Ms. Reed, once I open this, it may trigger an alert.””
“Then let it.””
He clicked.
A password prompt appeared.
“Do you have the authorization?”” I asked.
“No.””
“Use mine.””
Ethan froze.
“Are you sure?””
“Yes.””
He entered my credentials.
The folder opened.
There were fourteen documents.
Meeting notes.
Financial projections.
Employee transfer requests.
A private investigation report.
And one spreadsheet that made my blood run cold.
At the top:
*LEADERSHIP TRANSITION PLAN*
Below it was my name.
Beside it:
*STATUS — LIABILITY.*
Ethan went pale.
“That's impossible.””
“Apparently not.””
I opened the investigation report.
The first sentence nearly made me drop the tablet.
*Subject has become increasingly unpredictable since becoming a mother.*
I looked at Ethan.
“Keep going.””
He scrolled.
Another note.
*Her emotional involvement may make her vulnerable.*
Another.
*Recommend gradual removal of decision-making authority.*
Then one line underlined twice.
*Public perception should be managed before termination.*
My jaw tightened.
This wasn't about today's incident.
Today's incident was simply the first time their plan had touched my son.
That was what changed everything.
A notification popped up.
*REMOTE ACCESS DETECTED.*
Ethan jumped.
Someone was inside the folder.
“Close it,” he whispered.
“No.””
“Ms. Reed—”
“Don't move.””
The screen changed.
One document disappeared.
Then another.
Someone was deleting files remotely.
I grabbed my phone.
“Call IT security.””
Ethan reached for his headset.
“Already calling.””
The line connected.
“This is Ethan from Store 14,” he said.
“We have an unauthorized executive session accessing restricted files.””
A voice answered through the headset.
Ethan listened.
Then looked at me.
“They want you off the system.””
I took the headset from him.
“This is Nadia Reed.””
Silence.
Then a familiar voice.
“Ms. Reed, what exactly are you doing?””
Marcus.
I leaned against the counter.
“Reading.””
“You shouldn't be accessing those materials.””
“They're about me.””
“They're confidential.””
“So is a plan to remove me?””
His tone sharpened.
“You're misunderstanding the documents.””
“I don't think I am.””
“Come to headquarters.””
“No.””
“Nadia.””
“You come to me.””
Silence.
Then he said quietly:
“Not everything you find is what it appears to be.””
I looked at the security cameras.
“That's funny.””
“What?””
“Denise said almost the same thing.””
His silence told me more than words could have.
I ended the call.
Ethan stared at me.
“Are we in trouble?””
“We've been in trouble.””
Denise was still standing behind the counter.
She had heard every word.
I looked at her.
“You knew.””
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I knew something was happening.””
“You knew they wanted me out?””
“I didn't know exactly what the plan was.””
“You knew enough.””
She shook her head.
“They told us you were going to replace half the staff.””
“I never said that.””
“I know that now.””
“Who told you?””
“Marcus.””
The name hung in the air.
Denise took a shaky breath.
“He started calling meetings after closing. Supervisors only. He said the company was changing. He said you cared more about your image than employees.””
I laughed once.
Not because anything was funny.
Because suddenly so many things made sense.
Marcus had encouraged me to travel less.
He had taken over more meetings.
He had told me to trust his operational decisions.
And every time I questioned him, he called it stress.
Ethan interrupted.
“There is another file.””
He opened a document.
It was a memo titled:
*CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE RESTRUCTURE.*
At the bottom was a list of projected savings.
Employee cuts.
Store closures.
Executive bonuses.
I read the numbers twice.
“They weren't trying to save the company,” I whispered.
Ethan swallowed.
“They were trying to buy it.””
I looked up.
“What?””
He pointed to another column.
“The stores they planned to close weren't losing money.””
I stared at the screen.
“What were they doing?””
“Selling them.””
“To whom?””
He clicked into the acquisition records.
Three shell companies appeared.
Then one parent company.
My breath caught.
*Vale Strategic Holdings.*
Marcus's company.
He wasn't trying to remove me so someone else could lead.
He was trying to dismantle what I built and purchase the pieces himself.
Malik tugged my sleeve again.
“Mommy, can we go home now?””
I looked down at him.
“Yes.””
He smiled.
I crouched beside him.
“You hungry?””
He nodded.
“What do you want?””
“Pancakes.””
I smiled.
“Pancakes it is.””
I stood.
Then my phone buzzed.
A text from an unknown number.
*You're looking in the wrong place.*
A second message arrived.
*Marcus isn't the one who started this.*
Then a third.
*Ask your father.*
I stopped breathing.
My father had been dead for eleven years.
And whoever sent that message knew my family well enough to use his name.
May you like
Before I could reply, another text appeared.
*He left you something you were never supposed to find.*