CHAPTER 2 – THE SECRET INSIDE CARVER INTERNATIONAL
Nicholas Carver had built his empire on one principle.
Control.
Control the money.
Control the information.
Control the people who wanted to destroy him.
For twenty years, nothing had escaped him.
Every employee was screened.
Every contract was reviewed.
Every rival was studied.
Every threat was calculated before it arrived.
That was why Emma Callahan terrified him.
Not because she was dangerous.
Because she had proven something he hated admitting.
Someone inside his own walls had managed to hide from him.
And that meant Nicholas Carver had a weakness.
Blindness.
The Carver International boardroom was silent.
Twenty executives sat around the long black table.
Men and women who controlled billions.
People who negotiated with governments.
People who moved through the world believing they were untouchable.
But none of them looked comfortable that morning.
Because Nicholas Carver was standing at the end of the table.
And Nicholas only called emergency meetings for two reasons.
A crisis.
Or betrayal.
Today was both.
“Three hundred and forty-two million dollars.”
His voice was calm.
Almost too calm.
“That is the amount missing from our subsidiary accounts over the last eighteen months.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Nicholas looked around the room.
“Interesting.”
A few executives shifted.
“You all knew enough to hide it.”
A woman near the center cleared her throat.
“Mr. Carver, with respect, we didn’t know—”
Nicholas looked at her.
She stopped immediately.
Because everyone in that room understood something.
Nicholas did not need to raise his voice.
His silence was more dangerous.
“Emma Callahan found the pattern in three weeks.”
The room changed.
Some people looked uncomfortable.
Others looked afraid.
Nicholas continued.
“And none of you did.”
Emma watched from the side of the room.
She had not wanted to attend.
She had told Nicholas she did not belong there.
His response had been simple.
“You found the problem. You stay until it is solved.”
It was not exactly encouragement.
But from Nicholas Carver, it was close.
She stood near David, observing the executives.
And she noticed something.
Fear.
Not normal workplace anxiety.
Real fear.
Someone in that room knew more than they were saying.
Emma leaned slightly toward David.
“Who is nervous?”
David glanced at her.
“You mean besides everyone?”
“No.”
She studied the table.
“The person trying hardest not to look nervous.”
David followed her eyes.
A man in his early fifties.
Richard Voss.
Chief Financial Officer.
He sat perfectly still.
Too perfectly.
Emma whispered:
“Him.”
David’s expression changed slightly.
“Why?”
“He’s not surprised.”
David looked again.
Emma was right.
Everyone else looked shocked.
Richard looked prepared.
After the meeting, Nicholas stopped Emma in the hallway.
“You noticed him.”
Emma looked at him.
“Richard Voss.”
“Yes.”
“You already suspected him.”
Nicholas did not answer.
That was answer enough.
Emma crossed her arms.
“Then why bring me here?”
“Because suspicion is not proof.”
“And now?”
“Now I know I was right to suspect.”
She looked at him.
“You needed someone outside your world.”
Nicholas studied her.
“Yes.”
The honesty caught her off guard.
“You trust me?”
A pause.
“I trust your instincts.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Nicholas looked away.
And for the first time, Emma saw something rare.
Uncertainty.
“I’m learning.”
She almost smiled.
“Learning what?”
“To trust people.”
The answer was so unexpected that Emma forgot to be angry.
Because Nicholas Carver did not sound like a powerful businessman.
He sounded like a man admitting a weakness.
That afternoon, Emma returned to her old apartment.
She had insisted.
Nicholas had objected.
Strongly.
“You were attacked.”
“I know.”
“Someone knows where you live.”
“I know.”
“Then staying there is irresponsible.”
Emma looked at him.
“You cannot lock me inside your mansion forever.”
His jaw tightened.
“That is not what I’m doing.”
“It feels like it.”
A pause.
Then Nicholas said quietly:
“I don’t know how to protect someone without controlling the situation.”
Emma looked at him.
The honesty disarmed her.
“Then learn.”
And she left.
Her apartment looked smaller than she remembered.
The peeling paint.
The old furniture.
The stack of medical bills on the kitchen counter.
Normal.
Simple.
A life completely different from Nicholas Carver’s world.
She changed into dry clothes and made tea.
For the first time in days, she allowed herself to breathe.
Then she noticed something.
Her desk drawer was open.
Emma froze.
She was certain she had closed it.
Slowly, she walked closer.
Inside was a notebook.
Missing.
Her research notes.
Gone.
Her heart began racing.
Someone had been here.
The phone rang.
Unknown number.
Emma stared at it.
Then answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a man’s voice.
“You should have listened.”
Her blood went cold.
“Who is this?”
“You think Nicholas Carver can protect you?”
She stepped away from the phone.
“Where are you?”
A low laugh.
“You really are brave.”
“Who are you?”
The voice became colder.
“Someone who knows what Carver did.”
The call ended.
Five minutes later, Nicholas arrived.
Not because Emma called him.
Because his security system alerted him.
She hated that.
She hated that she was relieved when she saw him.
“You had my apartment monitored?”
Nicholas ignored the accusation.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Did anyone touch you?”
“No.”
He looked around.
Then noticed the open drawer.
“What was taken?”
“My notes.”
Nicholas’ expression darkened.
“Only your notes?”
“Yes.”
“Then they weren’t looking for money.”
Emma swallowed.
“They were looking for information.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Your information.”
Back at the Carver estate, Emma sat across from Nicholas.
He placed a folder on the table.
“I need to tell you something.”
She looked at him.
“That sounds serious.”
“It is.”
He opened the folder.
Inside were old photographs.
Documents.
Newspaper articles.
Emma looked confused.
“What is this?”
“Carver International twenty years ago.”
She studied the pictures.
Nicholas younger.
His father.
Several business associates.
Then she saw one name.
Victor Moretti.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Who is he?”
Nicholas’ expression became colder.
“The reason my family became what it became.”
Nicholas rarely spoke about his past.
Not because he was ashamed.
Because memories were weapons.
And he had spent years keeping his weapons hidden.
“My father built the company.”
Emma listened.
“He also built enemies.”
“Victor Moretti?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Nicholas looked at the photograph.
“Moretti wanted control.”
“And your father?”
“He refused.”
Emma waited.
Nicholas continued.
“The conflict lasted years.”
“People were hurt.”
“Businesses were destroyed.”
“Families suffered.”
Emma looked at him.
“And you?”
A pause.
“I inherited the war.”
The next morning, Richard Voss disappeared.
No warning.
No resignation.
No explanation.
He simply vanished.
His office was empty.
His phone disconnected.
His house abandoned.
Nicholas stood inside the CFO office.
David entered.
“Found something.”
He handed Nicholas a tablet.
A security recording.
From three nights earlier.
Richard Voss meeting someone.
The camera angle was poor.
The person’s face was hidden.
But Nicholas recognized the posture.
The confidence.
The way the person stood.
His expression changed.
“No.”
David looked at him.
“You know him?”
Nicholas stared at the screen.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Nicholas answered quietly.
“Adrian Black.”
David frowned.
“That’s impossible.”
“I thought so too.”
“Who is he?”
Nicholas’ eyes hardened.
“My brother.”
Emma was in the hallway when she heard the words.
My brother.
She stopped.
Nicholas had a brother?
Nobody knew.
Not the media.
Not the executives.
Not even most of his employees.
When Nicholas noticed her, his expression changed.
“How long have you been there?”
“Long enough.”
Silence.
Emma looked at him.
“You have secrets everywhere.”
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to trust you?”
Nicholas accepted the criticism.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m trying to stop lying.”
That answer surprised her.
That evening, Nicholas received another message.
A photograph.
Emma.
Taken from outside the Carver estate.
His hand tightened around the phone.
The message:
You protect everyone except yourself.
Let’s see how long you last.
Nicholas looked at Emma standing near the window.
Laughing quietly with David.
Alive.
Safe.
And he realized something terrifying.
He was no longer protecting her because she was useful.
He was protecting her because losing her had become impossible to imagine.
Meanwhile, across the city, Adrian Black sat in a dark room.
Richard Voss sat across from him.
“You said Carver would break.”
Adrian smiled.
“He will.”
“He has Emma.”
“Yes.”
“That makes him stronger.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at the photograph of Nicholas and Emma.
“It makes him weak.”
Richard hesitated.
“What are you going to do?”
Adrian smiled.
“Take away the one thing he never thought he could lose.”
The next morning, Emma arrived at Carver International.
Her security badge no longer worked.
The receptionist looked uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Callahan.”
“What happened?”
“I was told you no longer work here.”
Emma froze.
“By who?”
The woman looked down.
“Mr. Carver.”
Emma’s heart sank.
Not because she believed it.
Because she knew something was wrong.
Nicholas would not do this.
Not now.
Then her phone rang.
Nicholas.
She answered.
“What happened?”
His voice was cold.
Too cold.
“Emma, listen carefully.”
“What?”
“Do not trust anyone.”
Her breath caught.
“Nick?”
A pause.
Then:
“I need you to disappear.”
The call ended.
Emma stood frozen.
Because she knew one thing.
Nicholas Carver was afraid.
May you like
And if Nicholas Carver was afraid…
Whatever was coming was worse than anything she had imagined.
