Page 79 of Under the Mistletoe
“As you would expect. Tried to blame you for everything. Saying you did it for money, to increase your profile…” I roll my eyes at that one.
“Clearly jealous,” she quips, thinking about it all.
“Well, she’s no longer an issue. What’s going on here?”
“I’ve found it.” Her voice is small, and I take a seat on the sofa next to her.
“Found what, baby?”
“I found out where Marcus is getting the money. I found out what his plans are in Asia…”
I sit up a little straighter. “Why do I feel like we’re about to break open something big?” I feel the trepidation radiating off her.
“Because it is big. Very big.” Her beautiful eyes are wide, and I wrap my arm around her, pulling her close.
“Tell me. Tell me what you’ve found.” I brace myself, ready for it, knowing that she has found the needle in the haystack we’ve all been looking for.
“Okay…” She sighs and shifts to look me in the eye.
“So you know how I said the location of the factories Marcus was buying were all along the seaports?”
I nod. “Yes, you thought there might be a connection there?”
“There is. I noticed that all shipments from the newly acquired factories are routed through the same three ports. This wasn’t the case for those factories before Jasper owned them. Prior to Jasper taking ownership, the factories had a variety of ports they moved their fabrics through. But once Jasper owned them all, everything has moved through the same three ports like clockwork. All these ports have known corruption issues.”
My chest feels heavy, and my shoulders tighten.
“Go on…” I know better than to interrupt her. Her genius needs to shine through now.
“I also noticed that each of the three ports have seen a spike in textile exports from Jasper’s factories, but based on the public records, those factories haven’t increased production at all. If anything, their production has decreased a little. Which is to be expected when new ownership arrives. Staff leaving or new staff onboarding and other establishment policies need to be embedded before they are truly upscaled.”
“He’s shipping something else…” I wonder what he’s up to.
“That’s not all…”
My eyes flick to the sound of her frightened voice, and my jaw clenches. “What else?”
“I went to a business summit downtown today. I saw it advertised, and Marcus was a keynote, so I went.”
“On your own?”
“Yes.” I can tell she feels bad about not telling me.
I’m not pleased because I don’t trust Marcus at all, but I remain silent.
“I saw him talking with a man who looked… familiar.” She swallows, and I know I’m not going to like what she says next.
“So just to be sure, I found a photo of the man, and I sent it to the legal team, who confirmed who it was.”
“Who was it?”
“Matteo Viscari.”
“Fuck!” I stand and start to pace. “What the hell were you doing in the same room as Teflon Teo?” I yell, my panic at her being somewhere like that, where harm could come to her, pushes me over the edge.
“I had a hunch. I needed to go, to see if I could find anything.”
I pause mid-stride. “You put yourself in danger.”
