Chapter 5

Erica returned home, her thoughts an unruly tangle of fear and determination. She stood in the entryway for a moment, gripping the edge of a table, as if anchoring herself to the present. The conversation with her grandfather had gone better than she had expected, but it had also left her shaken. She had taken the first step toward uncovering the truth, but now, she had to take the next—and it terrified her.

She needed to tell Julian everything.

The thought alone made her chest tighten. Julian was her partner, the one she was supposed to trust the most in the world. But what she was about to reveal would shake the very foundation of that trust.

She walked into the kitchen, the familiar scent of fresh coffee still lingering in the air. Julian was still working in his study, his presence a soft, distant hum of keystrokes and occasional murmurs. She paused at the kitchen island, staring down at the untouched groceries she’d set out earlier, unsure of what to do next.

Erica wasn’t sure how long she stood there, lost in thought, but the sound of Julian’s footsteps approaching snapped her back to the present. She looked up as he entered the room, his tie loosened, and his expression tired yet warm.

“Hey, you,” he said, smiling as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. “You seem stressed, Everything okay?”

His voice, so familiar and comforting, sent a pang of guilt through her. She forced a smile, trying to keep her tone light. “Yeah, just… a lot on my mind.”

Julian studied her for a moment, his brow furrowing. “Do you want to talk about it?.”

Erica’s smile faltered. She swallowed hard, knowing that the time had come. “Julian, there’s something I need to tell you.”

The seriousness in her voice immediately shifted his demeanor. He straightened, the casual warmth in his eyes replaced by concern. “What is it? Did something happen?”

“Let’s sit down,” Erica suggested, leading him to the living room. Her heart pounded in her chest as they took their seats, the silence between them heavy with unspoken fears. She took a deep breath, her hands trembling slightly as she placed them on her lap. “Julian, I’ve been looking into something… something at your company.”

Julian blinked, confusion flickering across his face. “My company? What do you mean? What have you been looking into?”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” Erica began, her voice shaky. “But a few weeks ago, I noticed some financial discrepancies—money that seemed to be missing or moved around without any clear reason. At first, I thought it was just a mistake, but the more I looked, the more I realized that something was very wrong.”

She hesitated, watching as Julian’s expression shifted from confusion to disbelief. His mouth opened slightly as if he was about to speak, but no words came out. Erica pressed on, needing to get it all out before she lost her nerve.

“I tried to trace the discrepancies, but I hit a dead end. I just wanted to help.” she continued. “That’s why I went to see my grandfather today. I needed his help to dig deeper, to understand what’s really going on.”

Julian’s face hardened, his hands clenched into fists on the table. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” he asked, his voice tight with frustration. “Why did you go to your grandfather instead of coming to me?”

The pain in his voice cut through Erica like a knife. She reached out, her hand hovering above his before finally resting it on top of his clenched fist. “I didn’t want to upset you until I knew more,” she said softly, her voice tinged with regret. “But I realize now that I should have come to you from the start. I’m so sorry, Julian.”

Julian pulled his hand away, running it through his hair as he stood up and began to pace the living room. “I can’t believe this,” he muttered, more to himself than to her. “Financial discrepancies? Missing money? This is insane.”

“She was never supposed to know about all this”, the thought crossed Julian's mind. Those were enough to show the extent of Julian's awareness for everything that was happening. 

Erica watched him, her heart aching at the turmoil she had unleashed. “I don’t know how it happened, but it did,” she said, her voice steady despite the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. “And I’m scared, Julian. Scared of what this could mean for you, for us.”

He stopped pacing, turning to face her with a mixture of anger and a hint of something Erica could not decipher in his eyes. “Who could be behind this? Who would have access to the company’s finances like that?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Erica replied, rising from her seat to stand in front of him. “But whoever it is, they’re close to us. Someone we trust. I know how this sounds, but you have to believe me.”

Julian stared at her, his jaw clenched so tightly that she could see the muscles twitching. “Of course, I believe you,” he said, his voice low and strained.

Erica took a deep breath, reaching for his hand again. This time, he didn’t pull away. “We’re going to figure this out together,” she said, squeezing his hand gently. “My grandfather agreed to help us, but he also said that you need to be involved. We need to be honest with each other and work together.”

Julian’s eyes softened slightly, though the tension in his posture remained. “Your grandfather? He’s really going to help us?”

Erica nodded, feeling a flicker of relief that Julian was beginning to accept the situation. “Yes. He has connections and resources that we don’t have, and he’s already started looking into it. But he made it clear that we can’t do this alone. We have to be united.”

Julian exhaled slowly, some of the rigidity in his shoulders easing as he processed her words. “I just can’t believe this is happening,” he said, more to himself than to her. The subtle thought of her being in danger crossed his mind. 

“I don’t know anything yet,” Erica admitted, her voice laced with frustration and fear. “But we’ll find out. We’ll dig through every record, every transaction until we figure out who’s responsible. And then we’ll make sure they can’t hurt us anymore.”

Julian met her gaze, his expression a mix of anger and determination. “We have to be careful, Erica. If someone’s doing this, they might try to cover their tracks. They might come after us in other ways. We need to be prepared for anything.”

“I know,” she said, her voice steady. “But we can’t let fear control us. We have to stay strong and face this head-on. We can’t let them win.”

Julian nodded, his jaw set with resolve. “You’re right.”

Erica felt a swell of guilt as thoughts of her past foolishness cane to mind. Despite the storm they were now facing, ulian was her partner, her equal, and she knew that together, they could overcome anything. “We’re in this together, Julian,” she said, her voice filled with conviction. “Whatever happens, we’ll face it side by side.”

Julian squeezed her hand, his grip firm and reassuring. 

They sat down again, the tension in the air thick but now underlined by a shared sense of purpose. Erica pulled out her laptop, opening the files she had compiled on the discrepancies. Julian leaned in close, his brow furrowing as he scanned the data.

“This… this is bad,” he murmured, his finger tracing a line on the screen. “Whoever did this, they’re good. But it’s sloppy in places. Almost like they got careless.”

Erica nodded. “That’s what worries me. If they were so confident, why would they make mistakes? Or did they want us to find out?”

Julian frowned, considering her words. “It’s possible. Or maybe they thought no one would notice. But we did. And now we have to use that to our advantage.”

They spent the next several hours going through records, emails, and transactions, searching for patterns and inconsistencies. The work was painstaking and exhausting, but neither of them wavered. They were on a mission now, and there was no turning back.

Julian’s frustration grew with every dead end they hit. He would curse under his breath, pushing back from the table only to return moments later with renewed determination. Erica admired his tenacity, though she could see the toll it was taking on him. His usual calm and composed demeanor was beginning to crack under the pressure, and she knew they couldn’t keep this up forever.

Just as they were about to call it a night, Erica’s phone buzzed on the table. She picked it up, seeing a message from her grandfather. Her heart raced as she read his words: *I found something. Call me when you’re ready.*

She looked up at Julian, her pulse quickening. “My grandfather… he found something. It might be the break we’ve been waiting for.”