“I will get everyone on it,” John said,
“Seth,” I said, “we have the files on the current cases. We will start from there. Start from the more urgent cases, and we will figure the rest out. The cases due in court have to be sorted and prepared at all costs. John, was the data hacked remotely?”
“Yes, but they must have planted some sort of receiver in one of the computers,” John said.
“Alright, get the security team on it,” I said. “Get them to go through all the CCTV footage. As far back as they have. Anyone suspicious who may possibly have done this.”
Before I dismissed everyone, I said one last thing, “This stays between us. No one finds out anything, got it?”
“You do realize it could be one of your own?” Father asked once they left.
“I do,” I said softly. “Which is why I am going to have every single person here investigated.
“I am glad to see you have this handled,” he said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that this could possibly ruin our firm, and you can be sued. You can go bankrupt, and your license will be revoked.”
“I am well aware, Father,” I said with a sigh.
“Set up meetings with our top clients,” he said. “I will meet them and handle this. You get everything back on track.”
I looked at my father and nodded gratefully. He might be a jerk at times, especially the way he talked about Hillary, but I knew he just wanted to protect me.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said.
He patted my back and walked off, and I sighed. Everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong. Stella had appeared out of the blue. And even though I had pushed her away, I knew it wouldn’t be the last I would see of her. Stella never gave up easily. She was back for a reason, and I had a very bad feeling about it.
On top of that, my entire firm was in crisis. If I didn’t resolve this soon, the consequences would ruin me and anyone associated with the firm. And what made it worse was the fact that this could be an insider job. Which meant that I couldn’t be sure who to trust. Even Seth seemed suspicious to me right now. The fact that I couldn’t trust my best people made everything complicated. The only one I could trust was Daniel. I’d have him hire investigators to look into this.
I collapsed on my chair, exhausted, when my phone rang again. Groaning, I picked it up and said, “Who is this?”
“Mr. Fears?” a voice whispered. “This is Erica, Hillary’s friend. There has been an accident. Hillary is in the hospital.”
The phone dropped from my hand, and I stood up, my heart racing.
“Get my car out,” I hollered at someone and ran out of there, only one thought on my mind. Hillary.
Chapter 4
Alive & Safe
Hillary Beck
“You thought you could escape me?” he snarled at her. “You thought you could hide? Well, I got you. And now, you will never get away. Give up, Hillary. No one can save you. Not your parents. Not that bitch Erica. And surely not that dickhead Gale. No one.”
I woke up with a gasp, Joe’s voice echoing in my ear. My heart started to race, and I panted, struggling to breathe.
“Hillary!” I heard my mother’s voice. “It’s okay. You are okay now! You are alright.”
It took me a minute to realize that I wasn’t in that dark room anymore. Instead, I was in a room filled with light. I could hear the sound of a heart monitor and the whirring of the machines. I blinked, and everything slowly started coming into view. I saw my mother’s anxious face as she peered down at me.
“Oh, my baby,” she whispered.
“Ah, you are finally awake, Lassie,” I heard my father’s voice shaking as he spoke. “Gave us all a fright. Good to see ya.”
“Mom?” I whispered. “Dad?”
“Hello, honey,” my mother said. “How are you feeling?”
“It hurts,” I said softly. “Where am I?”
