Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“I can confirm it wasn’t Hugh,” he said.
I sat down and put my palms on my thighs, nodding. “He wouldn’t have let it be traced back to him. Will we ever be able to find out where this hack originated?”
Lenny had dark circles beneath his eyes. Everything about his expression was weary. He’d probably been working around the clock on this since it happened—even on Thanksgiving.
“Hey,” I said softly. “I know hacks can come from other countries and be just about impossible to trace. Only one person had access to that video, my agent and I know he was ultimately responsible. Don’t keep running yourself into the ground trying to figure out exactly where it came from. We’ll probably never know.”
“That’s the thing, though, Sheridan—I do know.”
“You do?” Anticipation swirled in my stomach.
“I’m sorry. I hate having to tell you this, but you need to know the truth.” He paused. “It was uploaded from Vanessa’s IP address.”
“Vanessa’s?” I would have laughed if he didn’t look dead serious. “Are you sure?”
“I double- and triple-checked. There’s no mistake. She signed in to the back end of our site and uploaded it from her personal laptop at exactly 6:54 that morning. Her computer required her fingerprint in order to sign in. She either posted it herself or she allowed someone to by telling them how to log on to her computer.”
I was too stunned to move, my heart hammering painfully against my ribs. It didn’t make any sense. Why would my best friend do that to me?
“You’re one-hundred-percent certain?” I asked Lenny, my voice breaking.
“I am. I’m sorry.”
This might have been almost as painful as losing Lars. Except I’d known Vanessa longer and had trusted her with everything. I’d fucking sold her my company, thinking she’d keep it safe.
“Oh my God.” I got up and started to pace, hands on my hips.
“So I decided to do a little more digging, just to see if I could find anything else and…it’s not good.”
“What do you mean?” I whirled around.
“I found legal documents on her computer…correspondence with an attorney…” He coughed as he handed me a stack of papers. “It’s a lot.”
My hand shook slightly as I took the papers from him.
My vision blurred as the depth of Vanessa’s betrayal hit me right between the eyes.
“She’s already done the paperwork to have everything put in her name. Not just the business, but all the assets, your holdings, everything.”
“Son of a bitch.” I hissed.
“And the last page, well, you need to brace yourself.”
“Fuck.” I flipped to the last page and I must have gotten pale because Lenny was instantly at my side, nudging me into a chair.
“I know,” he said. “I fucking know. I came as quickly as I could. To warn you.”
“Did you hack her computer?”
“Yes.” His eyes met mine.
“What else? Tell me everything.”
He laid it out for me in excruciating detail and all I could do was listen as my world crumbled around me.
Vanessa had done this.
My best friend had betrayed me in the most awful way possible.
And the hits just kept coming.
I walked to work in the morning because I needed the time to get myself together. I hadn’t slept last night. I’d talked with Lenny until nearly eight thirty, and then spent the next several hours on the phone with Marian. I’d called my mother to warn her, just in case Vanessa tried to get any information out of her since they’d always been close, and then I’d gone up to my studio to draw. I’d been hurt, humiliated, angry, frustrated, and so many other emotions it was hard to articulate the pain I’d been in. Sleep would have been impossible, so I’d painted, giving my hands something to do while my brain raced on overdrive and my heart shattered into tiny pieces.
I’d never dreamed Vanessa was buyable. Hugh had gotten to her just like he’d gotten to almost everyone else in my life, and there was nothing left for me to do. Nothing left for me to fight for.
Fuck Vanessa, I thought to myself. I didn’t know what she thought she was doing, but I was going to find out. I’d considered bringing Flynn with me today but had opted against it. According to Lenny, I had a lot of loyal employees who would have my back, no matter what. Of course, that’s what I’d thought about Vanessa too. Mostly, I just wanted answers.
I got off the elevator and noticed Lenny standing in the lobby with Nellie. Nellie had two cups of coffee in her hand and I managed a shaky smile, since I knew one was for me.
“Hi, Ms. Lee.” She gave me a nervous smile as she handed me the coffee. “I got your favorite.”
“Thank you,” I replied, accepting the coffee from her.
“They’re having a meeting,” she whispered.
“I’m late,” Lenny said, shrugging.