Chapter Twenty-Three
Liam
The weight of the phone call I’d just had with Simon pressed down on my shoulders as I walked into his office. As I sat in the chair in front of his desk, the grim look on his face told me the in-person update wasn’t going to be any better.
“I forwarded you the full report from the forensic accountant,” he said, getting right to the point. “There’s clear evidence of embezzlement.”
My stomach in knots, I opened the email on my tablet while he sat quietly, giving me a moment as I flipped through each document with the swipe of my finger.
The evidence was worse than I’d expected…
page after page of inflated invoices, manipulated numbers, and money being funneled into accounts designed to hide the fact that it was being siphoned out fraudulently.
It had been happening before we ever invested in the company, but the moment our money hit the books, the withdrawals had increased.
Worse, most of our initial investment was already gone.
Simon leaned forward. “Did you find out who works evenings? The timestamps of the transfers always occurred after office hours, which is the only clue we have right now about who is taking the money.”
I exhaled sharply, guilt eating at me as I remembered the way I’d manipulated Morgan into giving me that information. “I think it’s Parker,” I said, hating to admit out loud that Morgan’s stepbrother was most likely responsible. If true, this discovery was going to crush her.
“He’s the only person Morgan mentioned that works late at the office,” I went on.
“And last month, he had a problem with my plan to increase the marketing budget because he was concerned about the manufacturing costs. That didn’t make any sense at the time, but if he already knew the money wasn’t there… ”
“It makes sense now because he stole it.” Simon’s voice hardened, outrage simmering just beneath the surface.
I understood his anger, but I was more conflicted than him. My relationship with Morgan aside, I genuinely liked Parker. He was a good man, a smart man. I just didn’t understand why he’d do something like this.
Simon stood and paced to the window, his shoulders rigid. “We need to catch him in the act.”
I nodded in agreement, expecting him to suggest surveillance or more accounting reviews. Instead, he said, “I say we invest another million.”
I stared at him in shock. “You want to give him more money to steal?”
Simon’s jaw tightened. “I want to hire a computer programmer to set up a back door in GalvaTech’s system so we have the ability to monitor the account in real time. If he makes a move to embezzle more, we’ll have irrefutable proof. Timestamps, login credentials, everything.”
Logically, I knew it was the right move but it still felt like a betrayal of not just Morgan, but her whole family.
They’d welcomed me with kindness and appreciation for what I could bring to the company.
Samuel had treated me with respect from the beginning.
And I hated that I couldn’t confide in Morgan, that I was keeping something so monumental from her that could potentially damage our fragile relationship.
But for now, I knew I didn’t have a choice.
I also couldn’t allow Parker to keep draining the business and stealing the money we’d invested in the company. And stealing from his own family too.
“Okay,” I said finally. “I’ll talk to Samuel about investing another million tomorrow. You handle the programmer.”
Simon nodded, satisfied. I wished I felt the same.
All I could do now was hope that when the truth came out, it didn’t destroy a good family—and didn’t completely shatter the woman I loved.
* * *
Once the back door system was in place and the extra money invested, it took three days.
Three days of waiting, watching the system and financial accounts, and me, hoping—stupidly—that we were wrong.
That it was someone else working late and moving the money around.
That Parker wasn’t cable of embezzling from his own family.
But late last night, a transfer went through, moved to one of the shell accounts we’d identified.
Fifty grand. And the programmer traced it cleanly back to one computer.
Parker’s. Logged in under his name, with his passcode, with his IP address.
There was no doubt any longer who was transferring the funds for their own personal gain.
Simon wanted to contact the authorities immediately, but I talked him into waiting a couple of days, to give me a chance to handle it a different way. I wasn’t even sure what I planned to do, but I knew it had to start with telling Morgan so she wasn’t blindsided.
My heart sat like a rock in my chest as I arrived at her apartment. She’d been out of the office most of the day in meetings, and I was grateful because I knew she’d pick up on the fact that something was bothering me right away.
This was our second dinner at her place this week.
Last time, I’d been able to push my concerns about Parker aside and just be present with her.
We’d had an enjoyable meal, we’d conversed and kept things light, ending the night with her bent over the back of the couch and me losing my mind inside her.
I wanted that again. I wanted to grab her, bury my face in her neck, and pretend that I wasn’t about to fracture her entire world.
But I couldn’t. It was bad enough that I’d kept everything from her until now. The guilt I carried was festering inside me. I couldn’t hold back the truth any longer.
I forced myself to knock, and she opened the door with a smile that made my chest ache. I caught the scent of garlic and tomato sauce, but as delicious as the meal smelled, I had zero appetite.
She greeted me with a kiss, but she must have sensed my reluctance because she pulled back, her smile instantly fading. Her hand came up to cup my cheek, her thumb brushing my skin.
“Liam?” Her gaze searched mine. “What’s wrong?”
It was terrifying how in sync we were. How well she already knew me. But what I had to tell her tonight was going to be the first true test of our relationship.
“We need to talk,” I said, my voice rougher than I’d intended.
“Okay…” She looked confused, and concerned. “Do you want a drink first? Or dinner?”
I shook my head. “No, not yet.”
I took her hand. It felt small and warm in mine, and I gave it a gentle squeeze before leading her over to the brown suede couch in the living room. I sat down and pulled her onto the cushion next to me, turning so I could face her fully.
Her posture was visibly tense. “Liam, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
I kept hold of her hand, rubbing my thumb across her knuckles, trying to find the words. Every way I’d rehearsed this in my head sounded wrong. Everything about this was fucking gut-wrenching and I had to force myself to speak.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said, swallowing hard. “Something I should have told you sooner but I was waiting until I had proof.”
Her brow furrowed. “Proof of what?”
“GalvaTech has been losing money for the past year, well before Simon and I invested. It’s been well hidden up until now, but our forensic accountant found it.”
Shock transformed her features. “Forensic accountant? What are you talking about? I didn’t know you—”
“We kept it from you,” I admitted, hating how the words hung heavy between us. “Simon and I, we noticed some discrepancies in the financial reports, and we decided to investigate it ourselves without telling you or your family.”
Hurt flared in her eyes, sharp and immediate. Fuck. We’d barely scratched the surface of what I had to tell her, and she was already in pain.
“The losses have gotten worse since our investment,” I pressed on. “And that extra million Simon and I just put into the company has already started to disappear.”
“No.” She abruptly stood, shaking her head in denial like she could physically reject the information. “That can’t be right. I don’t believe anyone at GalvaTech would do such a thing.”
“It’s not just anyone,” I said, also getting to my feet. “It’s Parker.”
She froze, staring at me in stark disbelief. She didn’t even have to say a word for me to know that she thought I was insane for suggesting such a thing.
“It’s true.” I reached for her hand, but she stepped back, the rejection hitting me like a punch to the gut. “I wouldn’t accuse him without being certain, Morgan. You know me better than that.”
“It’s not possible,” she said in a calm voice that did nothing to soften the anger in her eyes.
“Parker wouldn’t do that. This is our family’s company.
He wouldn’t hurt us that way. And he makes good money.
If he ever needed help, he’d come to us.
Or me. This doesn’t make sense. You’re clearly mistaken. ”
“The programmer we hired set up a trace on the new funds,” I explained, keeping my tone even despite the frustration building in my chest. “It led straight back to Parker. His computer. His login credentials. There’s no doubt.”
Her eyes narrowed. “A forensic accountant and a computer programmer were hired and given access to our computer systems without our permission?” she asked incredulously.
I knew she was deflecting, unable to wrap her mind around the bombshell I’d just dropped. I hated that she was looking at me as if I was the enemy.
“The contract that I signed with your father makes me a partner in the business, Morgan,” I said. “I’m authorized to access everything at GalvaTech.”
“That doesn’t make it right!” Her voice rose, sharp with betrayal, her hands clenching at her sides. “You should have told us what your suspicions were.”
I exhaled a deep, steadying breath when I felt anything but. “We didn’t know who was doing the embezzling. Keeping it quiet seemed like the best way to find out who was responsible without tipping anyone off.”
Her jaw dropped, her eyes widening with fresh hurt. “Are…are you saying you suspected me?”
“No,” I said, stepping closer and placing my hands on her shoulders before she could move away.
“No, baby. I never thought it was you. But you have to understand why we kept it quiet. It’s Parker.
Would you have told me that he often works late if I’d been honest about the money transfers occurring in the evenings? ”
She jerked out of my grip, renewed anger flashing across her features. “You tricked me into telling you that! I never would have pointed the finger at Parker if I’d known why you were asking.”
“That’s the point,” I said. “We had to keep it quiet because you’re family. I knew you’d protect the thief if it turned out to be one of your family members.”
“Don’t call him a thief!” she snapped. “Parker isn’t like that.”
“He’s stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars!” I said just as heatedly.
We were both upset and shouting, and I could feel the situation spiraling out of control. I hated every single second of this conversation. Morgan turned away, walking the length of the living room as if she needed to put distance between us. Each step away from me felt like a mile.
“How long?” she asked, her voice suddenly emotionless.
I would have preferred the anger, but this sudden cold, stoic distance felt like the door was closing on our relationship.
“What?” I asked, the despair washing over me, making my brain lag.
She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. “How long have you been investigating this?”
I knew in that moment that I was about to deliver a devastating blow to our relationship, but I couldn’t bring myself to lie to her. There were already too many lies of omission weighing on me, hovering between us.
“Since before Vegas,” I admitted quietly.
The devastated look on her face was more potent and raw this time, and I cursed under my breath, hating that I was responsible for putting it there.
“You knew the whole time we in Vegas together?” she whispered, her voice trembling as memories flashed in her eyes—the intimacy we’d shared, the connection we’d built. “All those moments…the dates, the nights…you were keeping this from me?”
“I knew something was wrong with the accounting,” I said, pushing my fingers through my hair. “But I didn’t know it was Parker until now. I swear, I wanted to tell you. I hated holding back. But I needed proof first, to protect everyone, including you.”
“But you didn’t tell me,” she said in a flat tone. “This company is my life, Liam. And you didn’t trust me enough to let me in. Now you expect me to just take your word that Parker is embezzling money? Why should I?”
I understood her point. I’d known keeping this from her was a betrayal, but I’d done it anyway, prioritizing the investigation over us. I stood there feeling helpless, searching for words to make this right, but none came. There was no defense that would soften this blow for her.
She walked over to the apartment door and opened it. “I want you to go.”
I didn’t miss the glisten of tears in her eyes, and panic rose in my chest. “Morgan, I can’t leave like this.” The thought of walking out terrified me because I knew this could end us. I couldn’t lose her. Not now, not after realizing how much she meant to me.
I thought about telling her that I loved her, but that felt too much like emotional manipulation right now. It wasn’t the time or the place, and this situation was not how I wanted her to hear those words for the first time. And my biggest fear was that she’d reject them, anyway.
“I don’t have anything else to say to you right now,” she said, her voice breaking on the words, her sadness palpable. “I just need…space. I need you to go.”
The emotional plea in her eyes broke me. I couldn’t push her, not when she looked so fragile, so vulnerable. Slowly, I walked toward her, my steps as heavy as my heart. Stopping beside her, I cupped her cheek gently, brushing away a stray tear with my thumb when she didn’t pull away.
“I’ll go for now,” I told her, holding her gaze. “But this isn’t over, sweetheart. Not the conversation and definitely not us.”
I forced myself to walk out. I had to believe we could fix this. Work through the hurt, the secrets I’d kept…it was the only thing that kept me moving as I heard the door shut behind me, solid and final.