Chapter 67: You can’t be a bad girl
Luca forwarded a thin file across the desk to Sara. She immediately took it and flipped it open. She read the content inside quickly before finally landing on the bottom of the last page.
"Someone forged them," Sara said.
"Hmm. I’ll send it for immediate check by our forensic team," Luca asserted, already making a mental note. He then returned his gaze to Ryan, the financial manager who stood sweating nervously across the desk. "It’s hard to believe that you were not aware of this, Ryan. Given your position, I think it will be better if you submit your resignation soon."
Luca leaned back slightly, his tone hardening. "However, you will also be debarred from working in any capacity for any company under the Augustino umbrella for three months. Consider it a cooling period for negligence."
"Sir, you can’t do that! How will I feed myself?" Ryan questioned, the panic evident in his voice.
"That’s what you’ll have to find out," Luca stated. He then added a crucial clarification, leaving Ryan with no easy choice: "Either resign immediately, or bring me the name of the person who created such a mess under your watchful eyes, knowing that my investigation will soon expose everyone involved in these activities."
"You’re protecting Sara just because she’s your wife! You have proof against her!" Ryan demanded, his voice rising sharply. "She swindled many in the company. Every piece of evidence is against her, yet you want to overlook it, CEO Luca. How does this even justify your actions?"
"Well, I have the power to justify my actions," Luca stated. "You’ve a week to give me an explanation, or else you’ll be held responsible for this negligence," he added. "As for Sara, I have my ways to punish her once she is held accountable."
"Then, the first thing you should do is remove her from any executive position, certainly not a high-visibility role like the secretary of the CEO," Ryan insisted with personal frustration.
"You do not have the authority to dictate my staffing decisions, Ryan. I suggest you confine your advice to your own department. Leave," Luca stated, his voice an immutable command that allowed no debate.
Ryan’s jaw clenched, a muscle flicking near his ear. He held the stern gaze for a moment before he pivoted sharply and walked out.
"You created quite a mess at your last company, Sara," Luca commented, his eyes finally lifting from his work. "To have your signature so readily forged suggests either a lack of caution or perhaps a certain naiveté in high-level dealings."
Sara met his gaze without flinching. "You shouldn’t feel you must run interference for me everywhere. And Ryan was right. Placing me in such a key position is a risk. Any negative blowback will land squarely on you," she stated plainly, accepting the harsh reality of her past.
A faint smile touched Luca’s lips. "Then, what is your preferred alternative? Do you want to become a good wife?" he mused, testing her ambition.
"No," she replied with an immediate rejection.
"Then, keep working," Luca commanded. He pushed a stack of folders across the polished mahogany. "I’ve reviewed and signed all these files. Take them. And get ready, we are leaving now."
Sara gathered the heavy files, cradling them against her chest. "Leaving? Where are we going?" she inquired, her eyebrows slightly raised.
"Home," Luca replied simply, rising from his chair, a silent expectation for her to follow.
"I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have an arrangement to meet Asher today," Sara stated. She turned away, walking briskly out of his immediate line of sight.
Luca watched the spot where she had been standing. He ran a hand over his jaw and muttered under his breath, "It appears I have to take her to see Asher, or she will certainly go herself."
~~~~
As Sara sent the final file batch to the Sales Department, she immediately grabbed her personal phone. Her fingers quickly drafted a message to Asher, confirming her arrival time. Just as she hit send, the polished wood door of her private cabin swung inward without a knock.
Luca filled the frame, leaning against the jamb. He jingled a set of car keys in his hand.
"Let’s go. Since you insist on meeting him tonight, I’ll drive you to Asher’s house myself."
Sara pushed herself to her feet and stepped out first, with Luca following close behind, his towering presence filling the executive hallway.
"How did you find out about the missing entries?" Sara suddenly asked him.
"I read the report Diego had prepared, then cross-referenced that information with the raw data my team has collected since the takeover," Luca explained. They both stepped into the elevator, and the door silently slid shut, enclosing them in the quiet space.
"When I asked for that kind of data while I was still CEO, it was deliberately withheld from me," Sara mumbled, leaning back against the metal wall.
"That’s not true, Sara. You failed to check for yourself at the source end," Luca corrected her. "You only dealt with summaries and department heads. Since Ryan is the financial manager, he would have had direct access and an easy hand in concealing things. You didn’t push past the prepared reports." He paused, a predatory look entering his eyes. "Well, I threw a tempting bait at him earlier, and he must take it soon."
"What kind of bait?" Sara asked, turning to face him.
"I let him walk away with the threat of being investigated, and the chance that he can still run to your dear stepbrother for ’protection’ and expose you publicly," Luca elaborated. "That fear and that desperate need for an ally will force him to expose his hand soon enough. We just need to watch and wait."
"Diego will be declared the heir of my family today. That means I will have nothing left in that family. I am suddenly turning selfish. I feel like going to that event, uninvited, and creating a scene. Dad always saw a good daughter image of me; he should also see the bad side of me."
Luca smiled and walked closer to her. She furrowed her brows, wondering why he suddenly closed the gap between them.
Holding her chin up, he lowered his face slightly. "You can’t be a bad girl. Instead, let’s do something more entertaining tonight." A smirk appeared on his lips, which made Sara gulp.