Page 8 of Furever Loyal
Doesn’t matter. You’re here for one reason, then you can leave.
“You found my traitor,” the Queen asked softly.
“I…don’t know. We found something, but it will be up to you to judge just what that is,” she said, taking a tablet out from the satchel worn over one shoulder and flicking on the screen.
“Show me.” Kaelyn got up and came to Haley’s side, peering at the screen.
“We were reviewing every account, every transaction, for the entire month leading up to the date the money was taken,” she said, pointing at the sheet. “This is one person’s account. It didn’t trigger anything in our initial month-end work, because the numbers added up. But upon further investigation, we noticed some discrepancies, and after some digging, we found a transaction that shouldn’t belong.”
“So, you found the traitor.” The Queen was looking at her now, not the sheet, her eyes the dark green of a deep jungle plant.
“I…don’t know,” Haley admitted, reluctant to term anyone a traitor.
“Explain.”
“The money didn’t come from your account. It came from an outside source.” Haley bit her lip but then continued. “It certainly would appear to be, but I can’t say for certain it’s the same money.”
Kaelyn, the Queen, chewed on that bit of information for a minute, then nodded. “The name. What is the name on the account?”
“Uhh.” Her brain went blank and she was forced to pull up the files momentarily. “A Kincaid Ursa,” she said, reading the name at the top.
The Queen went still. “You’re positive?” she asked, her voice no more than a whisper.
“Yes. I don’t understand.”
Fingers flashed and a guard stepped forward. “Bring Kincaid back here, will you?”
The guard slapped a mailed hand to his chest. “Yes, my Queen!”
The regal woman stepped back to her throne, looking troubled. “Quietly.”
Without another word, the guard dashed off, disappearing into a passageway that seemed to appear out of the wall. Haley watched him go, then shuffled slightly as she waited in the silence. The Queen wasn’t speaking, lost in her thoughts. It couldn’t feel good to be told that one of your own had conspired to take your spot on the board, attempting to oust her from the company. That had to weigh heavily on the woman.
A minute later, the guard reappeared with someone—she assumed it to be this Kincaid—in tow.
Haley had to muffle a gasp. It was the man who’d been standing on the floor. The one who’d passed her on his way out.Thatwas Kincaid? He was the one who had robbed the company? She glared angrily at him. How dare this asshole treat someone like Kaelyn like that?
“You called for me, my Queen?”
Oh shit.Too late, Haley realized she was about to be dragged into the middle of it. The fear for her own safety overwhelmed her anger at the hulking brute of a man, forcing her to shift sideways, closer to one of the guards who was also big, tall and covered in bulging muscles. She wanted to be close to him, just in case things went…wrong.
“Kincaid. You stand accused of theft and treasonous behavior against your House. What do you have to say for yourself?” The Queen turned and sat as she spoke, spine straight against the back of the chair, her tone imperious.
Haley swallowed nervously, feeling the chill in the air as the temperature in the room dropped several degrees from the way Kaelyn spoke to this Kincaid character. She watched him for his reaction.
The words seemed to slam into the stoic man, crumpling his soul even as he glanced over at her, an odd look on his face.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” he said at last, sounding…haunted. She tried not to shiver at the obvious pain he was in. “What have I done wrong?”
“Ten million dollars was stolen from us the day of the…troubles.” The Queen was clearly choosing her words carefully, for Haley’s benefit. “Now it has been found.”
“That is good news. But what does it have to do with me?”
“It was found in your account,” the Queen accused.
“What?” Kincaid’s yelp of surprise filled the chamber. “There must be some mistake. I have never stolen from you, or from anyone.” His voice was starting to get angry. “I didn’t even know about the damn uprising until you called me, because I wasn’t here!” By the time he finished, he was shouting.
Uprising? That’s certainly different than calling it “troubles”. I wonder what truly happened here?
