Page 14 of Blackmailing the Mogul

“I—” I’m struggling to come up with a reasonable excuse to leave, but I don’t have one. I don’t believe Ryan is the villain in his and Henry’s story, but to expose myself now would leave me without Ryan and with the risk of Henry revealing me as Ghost002.

Ryan takes another look in my eyes, clearly reading my confliction as trepidation and simply says “I’ll take you home.”

I nod, feeling my cheeks burn with guilt. I keep my gaze fixated on the ground for the entirety of the drive home, knowing that the next thing I need to do is confess, I just need to get my bearings first.

***

It's been three days since Ryan left for an impromptu business trip… Three days since that night at his house. And in those three days, I’ve tried not to think about our kisses, about how it could have led to more. I’ve been working like a maniac, trying to prove that Ryan is a complete bastard like Henry said. Maybe it'll be a consolation if he really turns out to be a corrupt person, but I found nothing against him. It's infuriating yet, somewhere deep inside of me, I'm relieved that he's not such a terrible person.

Henry, on the other hand, has a closet full of skeletons and even though I didn't believe his sob story about being the victim in the first place, I'm surprised at how deeply he has his head buried in filth. I also discovered that despite throwing him out of the company, Ryan has been protecting him from public outrage, taking the fall himself. It's such an unexpected twist and I'm finding it hard to process how I feel about the whole situation.

I'm also grappling with the realization that I was so easily manipulated by Henry and somehow got myself involved in a battle that had nothing to do with me. Most of all, I'm exhausted, burned out, and on the edge of breaking down.

How on earth did I get here?

My phone rings, the sound jerking me back to reality. I looked around to discover that everyone else had left the office. I glance at my watch to see it's already a few minutes past 7 p.m. With a tired sigh, I grab my phone from the tabletop, groaning when I see Henry's name on the caller ID.

I close my eyes with another ragged sigh. I'm beginning to feel the start of a headache and for a moment, I consider rejecting his call, but I know he'll just come and hound me at the house. Better to deal with him now than later.

“Hello?” I hate that I sound tired, but I can't help it at this point.

“How's my darling hacker sister?” Henry asks dryly and I can almost imagine the arrogant sneer on his face.

“What do you want, Henry?”

“What do you have for me?” He counters.

"Look, Henry," I say, trying to sound firm even though I know he's not going to like what I have to say. "I can't find anything incriminating on Ryan, and trust me, I searched. I did everything possible from bugging his personal computer to fishing for information among other employees. He's clean. At this point, I'm afraid I can't continue to do this."

Henry remains quiet for a while. When he spoke again, his voice was deathly quiet. “What does that mean?”

“It means I'm going to resign from MedPlus and return to my normal life,” I reply, keeping my tone firm.

He laughs, a low and sinister sound that sends a shiver of apprehension down my spine. "No, Jenna You're not going to do that. You're going to stay on at MedPlus until I tell you otherwise and you're going to find me evidence of Anders' corruption."

“I told you, there's nothing…”

“Find something, dammit!” He cuts in sharply, his voice laced with irritation and something else… something he's trying hard to hide. Desperation? Fear?

“What do you mean; find something?” I ask carefully, keeping my tone even.

“Fabricate something, Jenna!" he snaps, his voice rising in anger. "Create a trail, plant some evidence, I don't care what you have to do, but find a way to bring him down! Do you understand?”

I feel a chill run down my spine as I realize the extent of Henry's desperation. He sounds like a man who'll go to any extent to get what he wants. "I-I can't do that," I say, trying and failing to keep the shiver from my voice. "You're telling me to ruin a man's life and reputation based on lies. I won't do it."

“You say that like you have a choice,” Henry says with a humorless snicker. “Do you want the world to know about your secret, little sister? I bet the media will have a field day running your story.”

“Not if I beat you to it,” I say, trying to sound braver than I feel.

My words are met with a tense silence. “What are you talking about?” He asks after a while.

"Oh, I found some interesting things on you while digging around Ryan's computer," I say. "I have records of your embezzlement and a list of your secret offshore accounts. No one will pay attention to a mere hacker if it comes out that the ex-CEO of MedPlus is a corrupt bastard. Ryan protected you but I won't."

“You bitch!”

A soft gasp escapes my lips. “What did you just call me?”

“How dare you threaten me?” Henry snarls, his voice dripping with venom. “If you think you can blackmail me, think again, little sister.

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