Page 98 of Until You (Forgive Me)

“What’s going on, Danielle?”

“If you listen, Bob, then Isabella will explain.”

Isabella took a deep breath. She had rehearsed this over, and over, but the words were currently stuck in her throat. It was at that moment Christian stepped out of Danielle’s office to stand next to her, taking her hand in his.

“You’ve got this,” he whispered.

“Thank you, everyone...” Isabella proceeded to tell the members of the board what had gone on with her trust fund and Pierce. There were gasps of shock when Isabella mentioned the figure that had been misappropriated.

“According to the bank records we have, it looks like the money has been filtered into The King and Lebroc Group.”

The room erupted in conversation.

“The company will never be able to repay that kind of money,” one person could be heard saying. “It will sink us.”

Isabella raised her voice over the crowd, “If you would listen. I’m not looking for the company to repay what has been stolen. At least not straight away. I need to know how much has been put into the business and how much has been personally stolen.”

“I know Pierce doesn’t have the same business brain your father had, but I cannot believe he would be that stupid or naïve. Where is your proof?”

Toby appeared then, carrying a box filled with the documentation they gathered.

“This is Tobias Grant. He is the solicitor who has helped me uncover all of this. He has had a PI working on it for me. We have collated our findings so far. Please feel free to take a copy and look through it.”

“Have you spoken to Pierce? It seems wrong for you to come to us behind his back if you haven’t even given him a chance to defend himself?”

It was Danielle who spoke up, her voice cold.

“I think Isabella has shown you more courtesy than you deserve with a statement like that, Curtis. Pierce is the man who got Isabella sent to rehab. It was Edward who staged the photos that made her look like a drug addict. He has stolen one hundred and fifty million pounds from her trust fund. The man should be in prison! If I was Isabella, that is what I’d be aiming for. However, she doesn’t want to incite another scandal. She is well aware of what that will do to both herself and the company. Isabella’s aim is to get Pierce to stand down and walk away. Repay any money he has stolen personally without threatening him with jail. You should be thanking her, not slinging mud.”

“Is this your idea, Dupree? Are you trying to take over our company?”

Isabella felt Christian squeeze her hand. “I can promise you, there is nothing further from my mind. I am here to support Isabella. As some of you know, Dominic King was my mentor, and I have the utmost respect for him and his daughter.”

“But you can’t deny it would be a boon for The Dupree Group. The hotel industry is one area you have yet to branch into,” another voice piped up.

“That is true, but that is not why I’m here. I’m happy to leave. If my presence here is muddying the waters, that was not my intention,” Christian said.

“Christian stays,” Isabella said, her voice firm. “He is the only person who has stood by me through everything.”

“I want to look through The King and Lebroc financials. We have the dates. I want to see what matches up,” Curtis grumbled.

Isabella breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, someone who was thinking with their head and not their heart.

Someone from the back pushed his way forward.

“Jonas?” Isabella said, stepping towards one of her father’s oldest and closest friends.

“I think you will all find Isabella is telling the truth. I know Pierce made several large cash payments into the company.” Jonas sighed. “I am so sorry, Isabella. I thought they were personal payments from him.”

“Jonas, would you like to explain?” Curtis said, his face a puce shade of red.

Jonas sighed. “Edward embezzled money a few years back.”

A collective gasp went up, voices rising as questions flooded out of the other board members. Jonas held up a hand and waited for silence.

“I found out by accident. Pierce was in his office late one evening. He didn’t know what to do. Isabella is right, Edward has a gambling problem. When I met with Pierce, Edward had taken money and was using it to either gamble or pay off his debts. Pierce wasn’t sure which. He tried to blame the stress of his broken engagement.” He threw Isabella a look of apology. “It looks like from the information you shared with us this evening, that is not the case, and this is a much older problem.”

“Why on earth didn’t you tell someone, Jonas?” Curtis asked.

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