Chapter 6 - The Secret Call
They slipped inside the library through the side entrance, finding a quiet corner near the historical archives where rows of towering mahogany bookshelves shielded them from the view of the main circulation desk.
Alexander sat at a wooden study carrel, his hands slightly trembling as he punched the ten-digit number from Arthur’s private card into Emma’s pink plastic phone.
He pressed it to his ear and waited.
Ring... ring... ring...
“Come on, Arthur, pick up,” Alexander muttered under his breath, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the tiny plastic device.
On the fourth ring, a sharp, exhausted voice answered.
“This is Arthur Sterling. Speak quickly.”
“Arthur,” Alexander said, his voice dropping into a low, urgent rasp. “It’s Alex.”
Silence fell over the line so abruptly that Alexander thought the call had dropped. Then, a sharp intake of breath echoed through the receiver.
“Alex?! My God, the police said your car was found abandoned near the harbor, doors unlocked, wallet left behind. They assumed... everyone assumed you were dead.”
“I’m not dead, Arthur,” Alexander said firmly. “Though my COO and his thugs tried their best to make it look that way. Marcus Sterling orchestrated a hit. He wants the merger pushed through by Monday morning so he can liquidate our reserves.”
“I knew it!” Arthur hissed angrily on the other end. “I’ve been trying to audit the subsidiary transfers all week, but Marcus locked me out of the main server room. Alex, where are you? The board is meeting in four hours to declare you legally incapacitated and vote in emergency leadership!”
“That meeting cannot happen,” Alexander declared, his CEO authority returning in full force. “If they vote me out before I present the forensic audit logs I’ve stored on my encrypted offline drive, Marcus takes control of the company permanently.”
“Where is the drive?” Arthur asked urgently.
“In my downtown penthouse safe. But I can't walk into my own building looking like a homeless man covered in Detroit mud without being intercepted by Marcus’s security team,” Alexander said, running a hand through his damp, tangled hair.
“Let me handle security,” a small voice whispered beside him.
Alexander looked down. Emma was standing beside his chair, her eyes shining with fierce intelligence.
“What did you say?” Alexander asked into the phone, covering the mouthpiece for a second.
“Tell your lawyer to meet us at the service entrance of the Vance Tower in forty minutes,” Emma said firmly. “Nobody looks twice at a little girl pushing a shopping cart full of recyclables through the loading dock. Not even corporate security guards.”
Alexander stared at her, stunned. He repeated the plan into the phone.
May you like
Arthur hesitated on the other end. “Alex... you’re sending a seven-year-old child into your corporate headquarters?”
“She’s not just a child, Arthur,” Alexander said, looking at Emma with profound admiration. “She’s the toughest partner I’ve ever had.”
