Chapter 9: Taking on a Titan

The audit took two weeks.

Elena worked eighteen-hour days, fueled by coffee and the kind of stubbornness that had carried her through every obstacle of her life. Jay worked alongside her, organizing data, flagging anomalies, and quietly removing the obstacles that Stern’s allies placed in their path.

By the end of the second week, they had found something.

“Look at this,” Elena said, pushing a spreadsheet across her desk. It was Friday evening, and they were alone on the thirty-second floor. The janitor had given up waiting for them to leave. “Q3 rebates. Sales to a client called Apex Solutions.”

Jay studied the numbers. His stomach tightened.

“The rebate is forty percent,” he said. “Our standard maximum is fifteen.”

“Exactly. And look who approved it.” Elena pointed to the authorization line. “Victor Stern. Personal sign-off.”

“Did Apex Solutions generate forty percent more revenue to justify that rebate?”

“Not even close. Their total spend with us last year was $2.3 million. The rebate alone was $920,000.”

Jay leaned back in his chair. His mind was racing. He had seen this pattern before—not in the files he had secretly accessed, but in the stories his father used to tell about companies that failed from the inside.

“It’s kickback,” he said. “Stern gives them an illegal rebate, they give him something in return. A consulting fee. A board position at one of their subsidiaries. Something off the books.”

“We can’t prove that yet,” Elena said. “But we can prove the rebate violated company policy. That’s enough to start asking questions.”

“It’s enough to make him dangerous.”

“He’s already dangerous.”

Jay looked at her. There was no fear in her face—only the cold, clear focus of someone who had decided to win.

“Then we proceed carefully,” he said. “We document everything. We build a case that even his allies can’t ignore. And we don’t confront him until we’re ready.”

Elena nodded. “Agreed.”

She stood and walked to the window. The city was beautiful at night, all lights and shadows and the hum of millions of lives being lived.

“Jay,” she said, without turning around. “Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you’d made different choices?”

“Every day.”

“What choice do you regret the most?”

Julian thought about his father. About the last conversation they’d had, the one that ended with you’re not a leader. About all the years he had spent trying to earn approval from a man who had never known how to give it.

“Staying quiet,” he said finally. “There were things I should have said. To my father. About how he made me feel. And I never said them. I just… nodded and smiled and tried harder.”

Elena turned. Her face was soft in a way he had never seen before.

“My mother died before I could tell her I loved her,” she said. “I was twelve. I thought I had more time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’ve made peace with it.” She walked back to her desk and began packing her bag. “But I learned something from it. Something that’s kept me going through every job, every setback, every person who told me I didn’t belong.”

“What’s that?”

She looked up. Her eyes met his.

“Say the thing. Don’t wait. Don’t save it for later. Because later might not come.”

The words hung in the air between them.

Say the thing.

Julian opened his mouth. He wanted to tell her everything—who he was, why he was here, how she had become the most important person in his life in just a few weeks.

But the words wouldn’t come.

“See you Monday,” he said instead.

Elena nodded. She didn’t look disappointed. But she didn’t look surprised, either.

“See you Monday, Jay.”