Chapter 5 - The Betrayal Worth More Than Twelve Million
Renee's world collapsed.
Victor Hale had been beside her family for decades.
He had attended her father's funeral.
He had helped Renee become CEO.
He had comforted her when she received her diagnosis.
And now Arthur's final message named him as the man who knew everything.
Daniel wanted to take the evidence to federal authorities.
Renee refused.
“If Victor knows we're investigating him, he'll disappear.”
“So what do you want?”
“I want him to think we're losing.”
They created a plan.
Renee would publicly announce that she was stepping away from Sterling Global because of her health.
The board would celebrate.
Victor would believe victory was near.
Daniel would remain beside her.
Marcus would secretly investigate the offshore accounts.
For the first time, Renee and Marcus were forced to work together.
Daniel hated it.
But he slowly realized Marcus wasn't the villain he thought he was.
Marcus had left because Victor had threatened him.
If Marcus stayed with Renee, Victor promised to destroy everyone around her.
That included Renee.
That included Daniel.
That included Lily.
Meanwhile, Renee's health deteriorated.
She needed a stem cell transplant.
Doctors found a potential donor.
But before the transplant could happen, the donor suddenly withdrew.
Someone had contacted the donor's family.
Renee's last hope disappeared.
Daniel refused to let her surrender.
He took her outside into the garden.
“You don't get to decide you're finished.”
She smiled weakly.
“That's very inspirational.”
“I'm serious.”
“You can't fix everything, Daniel.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“But I can stay.”
Renee's eyes filled with tears.
That night she kissed him.
It wasn't part of their arrangement.
There were no cameras.
No board members.
No contract.
Just two frightened people who had somehow become important to each other.
Then Renee whispered:
“Daniel, I think I know who can save me.”
“Who?”
“My father.”
Daniel frowned.
“Your father is dead.”
“I know.”
She touched the black drive.
“But he left something behind.”
The drive contained a second encrypted file.
And the key wasn't a password.
It was Renee's genetic sequence.
Arthur had designed the file so only Renee could unlock it.
Inside was a complete medical record.
And one shocking discovery.
Arthur had known Renee would eventually develop the same blood disorder.
Her illness had been predicted years earlier.
Someone had known.
Someone had been monitoring her health since childhood.
Daniel looked at Renee.
“This wasn't random.”
“No.”
May you like
She swallowed.
“Someone has been preparing for this for years.”
