Chapter 3 Secrets of the Grayson Family

Charlotte met his gaze, her voice steady. "Give me 48 hours. I'll find them."

Alex nodded, but there was a flicker of doubt in his eyes. "You'd better. Because if you don't, we're both screwed."

For a moment, the weight of his expectations hung heavily between them. Then Alex stood, adjusting the cuffs of his tailored suit, his movements sharp and impatient. "I'll have my assistant grant you access to everything you need. But remember, Bennett-time isn't on our side."

Charlotte didn't flinch under the intensity of his gaze. "Trust me, I know. I'll get it done."

Without another word, Alex turned and walked out of the room, leaving Charlotte alone to gather her thoughts. She took a deep breath, her fingers tightening around the edges of the folder he had given her. The clock was ticking, and the stakes were higher than any case she'd ever worked on.

The following day, Charlotte sat in Alex's sprawling, glass-walled office, her laptop open and files spread across the desk. She had been granted full access to Grayson Enterprises' internal records, and her meticulous approach was already yielding results. The whistleblower's claims were detailed, almost too detailed, and something about the pattern of information didn't sit right with her.

"Whoever did this knows the company inside and out," she muttered to herself, scrolling through a set of confidential emails. "But there's no way they acted alone. This is bigger than just one person."

Her train of thought was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. She looked up to see Alex standing there, his expression unreadable.

"Making progress?" he asked, stepping inside.

"A little," Charlotte replied, gesturing for him to sit. "There's something off about these leaks. They're too precise, too perfectly timed. It's almost as if someone wanted to create the maximum amount of chaos."

Alex's jaw tightened. "And do you have any idea who?"

"Not yet," Charlotte admitted. She hesitated, then added, "But there's a name that keeps coming up in the background of these documents. Victor Kane. Does that mean anything to you?"

The change in Alex's demeanor was subtle but unmistakable. His shoulders stiffened, and his gaze turned colder. "Victor Kane is a competitor. He's been trying to undermine me for years."

"There's more," Charlotte said cautiously. "Kane seems to have ties to someone inside your company. Someone close to you."

Alex's expression darkened. "Who?"

Charlotte hesitated again, unsure of how much she should say. But she had no choice-she needed Alex's cooperation if she was going to uncover the truth.

"Your sister. Evelyn."

For a moment, Alex didn't respond. His face was a mask of carefully controlled emotion, but Charlotte could see the tension in his clenched fists.

"Evelyn wouldn't betray me," he said finally, his voice low and firm.

"I'm not saying she did," Charlotte replied quickly. "But her name keeps coming up in connection with Kane. Emails, meeting notes, financial transactions-it's a pattern I can't ignore."

Alex stood abruptly, turning away from her and walking to the window. He stared out at the Manhattan skyline, his reflection in the glass as cold and unyielding as his tone when he finally spoke.

"Evelyn and I... we don't exactly have the best relationship. But she's family. She wouldn't do this."

Charlotte leaned back in her chair, watching him carefully. "Maybe you should tell me more about your relationship with her. It might help me figure out what's going on."

Alex turned, his eyes narrowing. "This isn't therapy, Bennett."

"No, it's not," Charlotte said evenly. "But if you want me to help you, I need to understand the dynamics at play here. Family can be... complicated."

Alex let out a bitter laugh. "That's an understatement."

He hesitated, then sat down on the edge of his desk, his posture tense. "Evelyn is... ambitious. Always has been. She hated living in my shadow, even when we were kids. When our parents died, I took over the family business, and she-well, let's just say she didn't take it well."

"Resentment?" Charlotte guessed.

"Something like that," Alex admitted. "She wanted control, but she wasn't ready for it. She made some bad decisions, and I had to clean up the mess. After that, she stepped away from the company. We've barely spoken since."

Charlotte frowned. "But if she's not involved in the business anymore, why would her name show up in connection with Kane?"

"That's what I intend to find out," Alex said, his tone sharp. "If Evelyn is working with Kane, I'll handle it."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "And by 'handle it,' you mean...?"

Alex didn't answer. Instead, he stood and walked to the door. "I'll let you know what I find. In the meantime, keep digging."

The next day, Alex found himself standing outside an upscale café on the Upper East Side. He hadn't spoken to Evelyn in months, but when he called and asked to meet, she had agreed surprisingly quickly.

Evelyn arrived a few minutes later, her designer coat draped over her shoulders and her heels clicking against the pavement. She greeted Alex with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Alex," she said smoothly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Alex didn't bother with pleasantries. "We need to talk. Inside."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow but followed him into the café. They took a corner table, and Alex wasted no time getting to the point.

"Do you know Victor Kane?" he asked bluntly.

Evelyn's smile faltered for a fraction of a second, but she recovered quickly. "Of course. He's a prominent figure in the business world."

"And have you been working with him?" Alex pressed.

Evelyn's expression turned icy. "What are you implying?"

"You know exactly what I'm implying," Alex said, his voice low and dangerous. "Your name is all over documents tied to Kane. Financial records, meetings, emails. Either you're incredibly careless, or you're actively conspiring against me."

Evelyn leaned back in her chair, her gaze hard. "You always were paranoid, Alex. Not everything is about you."

"Don't play games with me, Evelyn," Alex snapped. "If you're involved in this, I need to know. Now."

Evelyn's lips curled into a faint smirk. "And what if I am? What are you going to do about it?"

Alex's fists clenched under the table, but he forced himself to stay calm. "Why, Evelyn? After everything I've done for you-why would you do this?"

Evelyn's smirk faded, and for the first time, Alex saw a flicker of emotion in her eyes. Anger. Pain. Resentment.

"You think you've done so much for me?" she said, her voice trembling with suppressed rage. "You took everything, Alex. The company, the legacy, our parents' trust. You left me with nothing."

"That's not true," Alex said, his voice rising. "I gave you every opportunity to-"

"To what?" Evelyn interrupted. "To live in your shadow? To watch you succeed while I was treated like an afterthought? You don't get it, Alex. You never did."

Alex stared at her, his mind racing. Could she really be behind the attacks on his company? Or was she just lashing out, trying to hurt him in the only way she knew how?

Before he could ask, Evelyn stood, grabbing her coat. "I think we're done here."

"Evelyn-"

"Good luck, Alex," she said coldly. "You're going to need it."

She walked out, leaving Alex sitting alone at the table, his thoughts a whirlwind of anger, confusion, and betrayal.

When Alex returned to the office, Charlotte was waiting for him. She could tell from his expression that the meeting with Evelyn hadn't gone well.

"What happened?" she asked.

Alex shook his head. "She didn't admit to anything, but... I don't know. There's something she's not telling me."

Charlotte frowned. "Do you think she's involved?"

"I don't want to believe it," Alex admitted. "But I can't ignore the evidence. If Evelyn is working with Kane, I need proof."

Charlotte nodded. "Then let's find it."

Alex met her gaze, his eyes filled with a mix of determination and vulnerability. For the first time, he looked less like the invincible billionaire and more like a man fighting to hold his world together.

"Thank you, Bennett," he said quietly. "I don't say that enough."

Charlotte smiled faintly. "Don't thank me yet. We still have a lot of work to do."

As Charlotte dug deeper into the records that evening, she found something that made her blood run cold-a series of encrypted messages between Evelyn and a mysterious third party. The messages were vague but hinted at something much bigger than corporate sabotage.