Page 33 of The Next Door Billionaire's Deception

“It's me, Miss Durham. Good afternoon.”

I delve straight into it. “I just got an email from John Lamar. The board is demanding to see me. An emergency issue, they said. This is the first time in months. What do I do?”

A momentary pause. “Attend the meeting. Don’t worry. We’ll make sure no harm comes to you. Just attend that meeting. There might be a hint as to what’s Lamar’s endgame.”

“Do you think all this is related to the safe?”

“That'll be looked at. There’s no telling what the board is up to now, but we can’t avoid leaving any loose ends.”

“Is there anything I should do before attending the meeting?” I twirl a random strand of my hair between two fingers.

“Wear the wire. The meeting will be monitored from our end. And be calm, Miss Durham. We can crack this case only with cool heads.”

The call ends. I suck air between my teeth, before sighing.

I was enjoying my Saturday before this message. Now, I’m on edge, my pulse racing.

What is Richard thinking now? All through today, he’s been …friendly.I’ve not enjoyed my time with anyone like that since my brother.

I tap the wall. For all I know, Richard could be a spy. I still don’t know why he was snooping around during the party. Why does he pop up everywhere?

If Richard is a spy, then I should be cautious. Yet, I’m drawn toward this mysterious man.

I set about preparing for my impromptu meeting with John Lamar and the rest of the board. The sooner I face them, the better.

This meeting can be my best chance at getting a major lead on Lamar and, conversely, a meeting that can undo me.

Chapter 11

Richard

“Igotsomething,Mr.Burnes! Now, I know you asked me to look into Melissa’s relationship with your runaway lawyer, Alex Hawthorne. They’re brother and sister, by the way.”

It's been days since I gave Anna her task. It’s Monday morning, and she’s in my office, reporting her findings. So far, there’s nothing new.

I grunt, my hands crossed. “That’s not news, Anna.”

“Oh? So you took my advice and asked her? How did it go?”

I tap my forehead with my palm in exaggerated frustration.

“Focus, Anna. You were saying you got something?”

Anna shifts her glass frame, then draws her focus to her laptop.

“Yes, as I was saying. I found something that you might want to see. The lead was a bit obscure at first, but I later did some digging.”

Interested, I hunch over.

“Two hundred thousand dollars was transferred to a bank in Switzerland from Emerald Inc. two months ago. The signatory? Melissa Durham.”

“Maybe it was just made in her name. Or it was intended to make it look that way.”

Anna tilts her head to regard me, her eyebrows slowly raised. Her chin perks up as a smile builds on her lips.

“Mr. Burnes, did you just … defend Melissa Durham?”

Did I?

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