Chapter 281
At the police station, Penelope stared at her signature on the payment authorization form, and her heart sank.
Two years ago, Zebulon had been in charge of an amusement park project, but he’d been screwed over by the client. Not only did he fail to make a profit, but he also ended up owing a massive sum to a supplier. That supplier wasn’t the forgiving type. When the payment was late, they dragged Zebulon to a small warehouse, beat him up, and threatened to cut off one of his legs if he didn’t produce the money within three days.
Terrified, Zebulon had rushed to her office, begging for the cash.
At the time, she was finalizing a library project, and the finance department had the final payment ready for Monolith Builders. He insisted on diverting those funds, but she had refused—after all, she’d be on the hook for it, too.
“Are you really going to stand by and watch them cut off my leg?” he had wailed.
He fell to his knees, crying that he was out of options and that she was his only hope. Penelope’s heart softened. Still, she didn’t just hand him the money. She consulted Ward first, and only after getting his approval did she have the finance department wire the payment directly to the supplier. The transaction had required her signature, of course, and now, that very signature was being used as evidence to condemn her.
“This money was the final payment the company owed to Monolith Builders,” Ward declared, his voice dripping with outrage. “I thought the account had been settled two years ago. It wasn’t until Monolith Builders came asking for their payment a few days ago that I discovered she had stolen the money p>
“Ten million dollars! The sheer greed of it p>
“Officers, we want to press charges. She belongs in jail!” Ward pointed an accusatory finger at Penelope.
“What are you talking about? That money went to Zebulon!” Penelope shot back, her brow furrowed.
“Officers, listen to her, still trying to lie her way out of it,” Ward scoffed. “Saying she gave it to my son? What nonsense. Besides, do you have any proof p>
Penelope explained the entire sequence of events. It was a simple matter to verify; all they had to do was check with the supplier from two years ago, and the truth would come out.
The investigating officer stared at her for a long moment before saying, “This supplier is a shell company p>
“What?” Penelope was stunned.
“You authorized the finance department to transfer ten million dollars to a shell company. How do you explain that p>
“I p>
She froze. If Zebulon had given her the name of a shell company, then the ten-million-dollar payment had vanished into thin air And as the one who approved it, signed off on it, and took responsibility for it, she… It would be perfectly logical to assume she had embezzled the funds.
But she hadn’t. Only in this moment did she realize Zebulon had tricked her. Two years ago, he-and by extension, the entire Sullivan
family had been setting a tranet
one
that had finally sprung, delivering devastating blow.
“Can I confront Zebulon?” she asked, her voice tight.
Zebulon arrived soon after. When he saw her sitting in the interrogation room, a flicker of triumph crossed his face.
“What is your relationship with her?” the officer asked, starting with the basics.
Zebulon paused for a moment before saying, “She… she was my mistress p>
Penelope’s fists clenched. “Zebulon, don’t you dare lie p>
“I’m a married man. You were sleeping with me behind my wife’s back. What would you call it, if not my mistress p>
“You tricked me into marriage p>
“Don’t you dare slander me. Do you have any proof p>
“You p>
Seeing her speechless, Zebulon’s smirk widened. “Because of our… relationship; I gave her a job at my family’s company. I even made her a project manager despite her lack of experience. Who knew she was so greedy she’d dare to embezzle such a large sum of company money? Now I finally see her for who she is want her to return the money and face the consequences of the law p>
“Zebulon, I did it to save you! To save your life!” Penelope screamed.
“As the heir to the Stone Group, I would need saving from you?” Zebulon sneered.
“Do you even believe the words coming out of your own mouth p>
“You knelt before me, begging p>
“You must be dreaming,” he cut her off.
Penelope slammed her fist on the table. “So you set this all up two years ago to frame me! Why? What did I, Penelope, ever do to you that you would go to such lengths, scheme so meticulously, just to destroy me p>