Chapter three: Beneath the surface

By noon, the news has already spread to every corners of Montuigo Group, from the very first floor to the ground floor.

There wasn't a single department that hasn't heard about the failed Helios contract.

The tension in the air was thick, it felt like Montuigo held its breath, employees who always greeted each other cheerfully with bright smiles now just nod at each other, suspicious glances being thrown around, trusts weavering

The break rooms, hallways, elevators, cafeteria has become an official ground for speculations

Groups of employees clamoring around here and there to gossip about the sudden loss

"I heard Execution Director Alex has been suspended"

"No, that's impossible" another retorted

"Our chief said the chairmen spent the entire night at the headquarters before the boardroom meeting this morning" someone from the finance chipped in

"I actually heard the idea was stolen" another added with a shushed voice

"Stolen??! What do you mean stolen?"

"They are saying someone leaked confidential information".

Another employee scoffed

"As if someone will dare risk ruining their entire life for one contract, it doesn't make sense at all"

"You'd be surprised what people would do for enough money"

Silence followed

A young intern leaned close

"My friend from the IT department said security confiscated several executive's laptop this morning"

"What!?"

"They are checking the access logs"

"No way"

"I'm serious.....they even sealed the executive floor already "

The chatter died instantly, realization dawning on the employees, the situation is much more serious than they thought. After what feels like forever, a middle aged female employee swallowed nervously

"......Does that mean......the traitor is still inside the company??! She whisper screamed the last part

No one answered, no one want to but deep down, everyone already begins to wonder the same thing

The company's internal chat groups are no better, a lot of questions, rumors, speculations, assumptions and wild theories has been going round and round the chat rooms

No one knew what was true, some claimed Executive Director Alex has been dismissed already, other insists that the chairman jas personally begun interrogation the executives. Some even believe the company's stock price will take a huge fall. Every minute that passes by has a new rumor replacing the last

Unlike the chaos below, the executive floor remained eerily silent, every person else stood at every entrance. Access cards were checked more than twice, visitors were turned away, the once warm and welcoming hallway now feels like a long dark alley without a single sign of breath, the smiles are frozen every secretaries only spoke when necessary. Somewhere within these walls, someone had the guts to betray Montuigo Group

The only question was.........

........WHO?

Inside the Executor Director's office.....

Alexander stands before the floor-to-ceiling windows, his hands tucked into his picked. The city stretched endlessly, buzzing and busy but his attention remains on the reflection in the glass

A soft knock interrupts his thoughts

"Come in"

The door opened, his assistant entered with a stack of documents

"..These are the access logs you requested"

Alex accepted them without looking up

"Thank you"

The assistant turned to leave but halted in his step

"....Sir..." The assistant called out

Alex finally turned.

The man swallowed

"Do you......suspect me?

Silence followed, Alex studied him for a long moment..

"I suspect everyone".

The assisted paled, sweats covered his forehead

"....... including me?" He asked

Alex looked at him for a second, walked past him and walked to his seat

"This investigation isn't personal, it's evidence that decides the guilt....not emotions"

The assistant lowered his head

"I understand sir"

He turned around and quietly left the office

Alex watched the door close before exhaling.

He hated this.

Trust is the foundation of every successful company but now...the situation is different, everyone is under suspicion, no one trusted anyone

*An hour later*

In the investigation room, files covered the conference table, employee records, security reports, meeting schedules, visitors logs and phone logs

Alex circled six names on the white board, only six people had access to the confidential proposal, yet..... something ain't adding up

He picked up Helios contract proposal again, page after page, then he spots something, his eyes narrow

"....No"

He whispered to himself

"This isn't right"

Another executive looked up

"What is it?"

Alex placed both proposals side by side

"They copied almost everything "

He tapped one section

"But not this"

The room leaned closer, the atmosphere turning serious at once

"Our logistic calculations,.........they are outdated"

The finance director frowned

"What do you mean?"

Alex looked around the room, scanning everyone

"It means whoever leaked the proposal didn't steal the final version".

Silence followed, everyone leaned closer to the proposal looking at the logistic calculations

"They stole an earlier draft"

The realization hits everyone at once, of that should be true, that means......

A middle aged executive stood up with excitement finally finding a lead

"That means the leak didn't happened recently, it happened weeks ago...which meant..." He trails off

"The traitor had been planning this for a long time" Alex added

Everyone was wowed, someone really dare to plan against Montuigo over a long period of time

Meanwhile......

Inside Frank Montuigo's office, Frank sat on his chair, turning it to has his back facing the room, looking over the city

A knock rang out

"Enter" he answered as he turned back and adjusted his shirt

The head of human resources stepped inside.

"Chairman, the investigation has affected the staff's morale"

Frank remained silent seemingly thinking

"Rumours are spreading throughout the company"

The HR director hesitated

" Should we issue a statement?"

Frank raised his eyes, his sharp eyes meeting with the older man's

"No"

The answer came without hesitation, short and simple

"The truth will silence rumors, until then......they can whisper"

*Late afternoon*

Alex walked through the executive floor, employees immediately stood when they saw him, he acknowledged each with a nod, no one could read his expression

He passed at the reception dest, his secretary, a young female in her early twenties looked up from her computer, she stood up immediately with a polite smile

"Director Alex" she called out

"I've arranged tomorrow's meetings" she added

Alex returned a small nod

"Thank you"

"Would you like a cup of coffee sir?" She asked

"Black" he replied curtly

"Right away" she replied with a professional smile as she leaves her cubicle

Alex continued into his office, he never noticed the secretary looking back at him until he disappeared around the corner

Only then... Her smile fades naturally, almost unnoticeable, so slightly that anyone looking wouldn't have noticed

She lowered her gaze and typed something on her phone then walked to the break room to get the coffee

Soon enough, night fell over Montuigo Group.

Most lights had gone out, only a handful of offices are still lit up

Alex sat alone surrounded by files, the more he investigated, the less sense the case made.

Every answer created two new questions, but the fact remains that somewhere inside this building, someone had betrayed Montuigo Group, but whoever they were, they were careful.

Alex closed the final file of the night and for the first time since the investigation began...

He admitted something to himself.

"This won't be easy......"

Outside his office, a shadow passed silently down the corridor, it paused briefly outside his door then disappeared into the darkness.

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