Page 108 of All Bets Are Off

“Oh, right.” Rex went back to looking at his computer. “As far as I can tell, Hamilton Corporation doesn’t manufacture anything any longer. They haven’t gone bankrupt. They’re still technically operational. They just don’t do anything.”

“Is that uncommon if a company goes out of business?” I asked.

“Yeah. Normally, all that stuff goes through the courts for bankruptcy declarations and everything. There’s none of that here.”

“You said there were like four shell companies,” Tallulah argued. “That’s only two.”

“Well, when I couldn’t find anything about Hamilton Corporation going bankrupt, I dug further. Hamilton Corporation is owned by Midas LLC. Midas LLC is owned by Coronation Alley.” He pulled up short here. “I’m running Coronation Alley now. Basically, what we’re looking for here is an active corporation or individual.”

“Why would somebody create a company and hide it under this many layers?” I asked, already knowing the answer. I just wanted Rex to confirm it for me.

“There’s only one reason, Livvie.” Rex’s affect was flat. “Somebody is embezzling that money. At this point, I have no doubt that Infinity Group is getting five-hundred-thousanddollars a month to do nothing. It’s just a big fat embezzlement scheme.”

“So, we need to find out who is running it,” I surmised.

“Yeah, it’s going to be someone high up.” Rex was grim. “Only someone on the board could’ve hidden this for so long.”

My stomach twisted, but I nodded. I already knew who it was. Deep down, I definitely knew. I wanted to be wrong, though. When Rex’s computer dinged, I held my breath.

His eyes scanned the screen, and when he lost all color, I knew I had my answer.

“It’s Ryder, isn’t it?”

Rex blinked rapidly as he raised his eyes. “How did you know?”

“He has a watch with an infinity sign.” I held up my own wrist to indicate the location.

“You did all of this digging because of a watch?” Rex was incredulous.

I shook my head. “It never made sense to me that Ryder would take the investigation away from Zach. Why wouldn’t he use that as a test to see what Zach’s capable of? Instead, he said he would hand it off to specific people … and never did. Addendums were sent in to try to cover the theft but they weren’t done very well. It was a hastily covered thing.”

Tallulah rolled to a sitting position. She was now firmly involved in this. “Why would Ryder Stone steal from his own company?”

Thatwasthe question. I could only think of one answer. “Zach mentioned that he thought there was a chance Ryder was messing around with his secretaries. They keep changing, and they’re all young and not really qualified for their positions.”

“Yeah, that’s been a running joke between Zach and me for years,” Rex confirmed. “Do you think he knocked one of them up?”

“Maybe he has a long-term mistress or something.” I held out my hands. “Either way, he’s putting this entire company at risk.”

“What are you going to do?” Tallulah asked.

I thought about losing my job, what might’ve happened if I hadn’t said anything. Could I do that? Would it be better for everybody if I kept my mouth shut?

Ultimately, I turned grim. “I guess I’m going to have to ask for a meeting with Ryder.”

Rex immediately started shaking his head. “That’s a very bad plan.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

He opened his mouth, then shut it. He looked a little green around the gills when he shook his head.

“I can’t do nothing. Zach has to know he was right about this,” I said.

“And what if Ryder turns it around on you and Zach sides with his father?” Tallulah challenged.

“I guess that’s something I’m going to have to risk.” I was resigned. “I have to do the right thing here. I’m just not built to do the wrong thing.”

Rex nodded. “I’m going with you.”

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