Rachel lost color in her face for the first time.
Victor smiled with satisfaction and walked away, saying, “Enjoy your time while it lasts.”
When he left, the ocean sounded distant and heavy. Avery hugged Ethan’s leg and asked quietly, “Can we go home?”
Ethan did not answer immediately and looked at Rachel before asking, “Is it true?”
“I am trying to find another solution,” she replied.
“That is not what I asked,” he insisted.
She stayed silent, and that silence hurt more than anything else.
“Everything will be decided on Monday,” she finally said.
Ethan laughed bitterly and said, “You told me I was safe.”
“I do not want to lose you,” she replied.
“But you might anyway,” he answered.
She said nothing, and he began gathering their things quickly.
“Ethan, wait,” she said, “there is something you need to know.”
“Then say it now,” he replied sharply.
Her phone rang again, and when she saw the caller, her face turned pale.
She answered, listened briefly, then looked at him and said, “They found who has been sabotaging the company, and you will not believe who it is.”
PART 3
Rachel held the phone tightly as she said, “It was not the market, it was not mistakes, it was someone inside the company.”
Ethan felt a cold wave run through him and asked, “Who?”
“Douglas Reed,” she said quietly.
Ethan froze because Douglas was the operations director, the man everyone trusted, the one who constantly spoke about discipline and sacrifice.
“It cannot be him,” Ethan said.
“It is him,” Rachel replied, “he moved money through fake accounts and hidden contracts, and he was not alone.”
Ethan understood immediately and said, “Victor.”
Rachel nodded slowly.
Everything suddenly made sense, including the pressure, the threats, and the desperation behind the merger plan.
“So the merger was your last option,” Ethan said.
“Yes, it was my way to save as many people as possible, but now that the truth is out, I do not have to give the company away,” she explained.
Ethan looked down and said quietly, “Why did you not tell me?”
“Because I learned that showing weakness invites people to destroy you,” she replied.
Avery stepped forward and handed Rachel her small bucket and said, “If you are sad, you can play with us.”
Rachel covered her mouth, holding back tears, while Ethan finally saw how lonely she truly was beneath her strength.
Two days later everything changed.