Ten minutes later, Michael received an anonymous email.
Stop looking into Harrison.
He stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
Some things are better left alone.
Michael forwarded both messages directly to the CEO.
The CEO called him immediately.
"Are you frightened?"
"No."
"Good."
There was a pause.
"Because I hired you for exactly this."
Michael looked at the folder on his desk.
"How long have you suspected something?"
"Long enough to know I couldn't investigate it openly."
Michael understood.
The CEO hadn't hired him simply to improve operations.
He had hired him to find out what was happening inside the company.
And the executive folder wasn't just an appointment document.
It contained a confidential mandate.
Michael had full authority to investigate internal misconduct.
He opened it again.
At the bottom was a handwritten note from the CEO:
Trust the numbers. People can lie. Numbers usually leave fingerprints.
Michael smiled.
Then he opened the Harrison file again.
The next fingerprint was already waiting.
A payment had been made directly to an account belonging to Victoria's husband.
But the payment had been approved by someone much higher.
The CEO's signature was on the document.
Michael stared at it.
For the first time, he wondered whether the corruption reached the very top.
CHAPTER 4 — THE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT MICHAEL WAS ALONE
Michael didn't confront the CEO.
Not yet.
He understood that suspicion wasn't evidence.
Instead, he expanded the investigation.
He compared contracts.
Payment dates.
Approval chains.
Employee transfers.
Bonuses.
And resignations.
A pattern slowly emerged.
Whenever an employee questioned Harrison Strategic Solutions, something happened.
One accountant had been transferred.
A purchasing manager had suddenly resigned.
A senior analyst had been denied promotion.
Another employee had received a performance warning after asking why consulting expenses were increasing.
Michael contacted the former employees privately.
One agreed to meet him.
Her name was Daniel Brooks.
She had worked for the company for eleven years.
They met at a quiet café after work.
Daniel placed a thick envelope on the table.
"I kept copies because I knew someday someone would ask."
Michael opened it.
Inside were invoices, emails, and internal reports.
One email immediately caught his attention.
It was from Victoria.
Do not challenge Harrison's invoices. Senior management has approved the arrangement.
Michael looked up.
"Who is senior management?"
Daniel shook her head.
"I never knew."
"Did you report it?"
"Yes."
"To whom?"
"The CEO's office."
Michael went silent.
Daniel continued.
"Three days later, I was transferred."
Michael closed the envelope.
"Why are you giving this to me?"
"Because yesterday I saw you walk into the executive meeting."
She looked directly at him.
"You didn't look impressed by your title."
"What did I look like?"
"Like someone who actually wanted to fix something."
Michael thanked her.
Before leaving, Daniel said one more thing.
"There's someone you need to talk to."
"Who?"
"Thomas Reed."
Thomas had been the company's former internal auditor.
Michael found him the following morning.
Thomas was reluctant.
But when Michael mentioned the Harrison contracts, his expression changed.
"You found it."
"Found what?"
"The account."
"What account?"
Thomas closed the blinds.
"For years, money has been moved out of the company through fake consulting contracts."
Michael already knew that.
"What I don't know is where it goes."
Thomas reached into a drawer.