The CEO and the Country Wildflower chapter 25

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The CEO and the Country Wildflower
Chapter 25: The Clock is Ticking


The moment Leo Brown’s smug smirk faded into the shadows of the hallway, Lucas York’s grip on Emelly’s hand tightened. His migraine, which had been absent in the chaos of the moment, now threatened to return with a vengeance. But there was no time for weakness. “We need to move. Now,” Lucas said, his voice low and urgent. Emelly nodded, her mind already racing through the details of Leo’s accusation. Fraud. A lawsuit. Planted evidence. Every second counted. They sprinted through the corridors of York Group, ignoring the curious glances of employees. David, Lucas’s ever-loyal driver, was already waiting at the curb, engine running. “Where to, sir?” David asked as they slid into the backseat. “Legal department. Fast.” The car peeled away from the curb, tires screeching. Emelly clutched the edge of her seat, her thoughts spinning. “Leo wouldn’t have filed this without backup,” she muttered. “He’s too careful for that.” Lucas’s jaw clenched. “Which means he’s already covered his tracks. We need to find out what he planted—and where.”


Emelly’s photographic memory flickered through every document she’d seen in the past month. Contracts, financial reports, emails. Then it hit her. “The merger files,” she gasped. “The ones from last week. There was a discrepancy in the numbers, but I thought it was just a typo.” Lucas’s eyes darkened. “That wasn’t a typo. That was the setup.” When they arrived at the legal department, chaos had already taken hold. Lawyers huddled over documents, voices tense. Linda Crow stood near the head of the room, her expression unreadable—but Emelly didn’t miss the flicker of satisfaction in her eyes. “Ah, Mr. York,” Linda said smoothly. “We were just reviewing the allegations. It seems Brown Group has substantial evidence of financial misreporting.”


Lucas didn’t flinch. “Show me.” A folder slid across the table. Emelly leaned in, scanning the pages. Her stomach dropped. The numbers were wrong—deliberately so. And worse, the forged signatures looked alarmingly real. “This is impossible,” Lucas muttered. But Emelly’s sharp eyes caught something else—a tiny inconsistency in the formatting. A font mismatch. A watermark that shouldn’t be there. “It’s fake,” she said firmly. “Look here—the header is off by a fraction. And this clause? It’s worded differently from our standard contracts.” The lawyers exchanged glances. One of them frowned. “Even if it is, proving it in court will take time. The lawsuit goes public tomorrow.” Lucas exhaled sharply. “Then we don’t have time.” Emelly’s mind whirred. “We need the original files.


The digital trail. If Leo tampered with the records, there has to be a backup somewhere.” Tony Bright, who had been silently observing from the corner, suddenly spoke up. “The server archives. IT keeps offline backups for emergencies.” Lucas’s gaze snapped to him. “Can you access them?” Tony hesitated. “Not without authorization.” Linda crossed her arms. “And even if you could, tampering with evidence now would only make things worse.” Emelly ignored her, turning to Lucas. “We don’t need to tamper. We just need to find the truth.” Lucas made a decision. “Tony, get me into that server room. Now.” As they rushed out, Linda’s voice followed them. “You’re making a mistake, Lucas.” He didn’t look back. The IT department was a maze of cables and blinking lights. Tony worked quickly, bypassing protocols with a few keystrokes. “This might get me fired,” he muttered. Emelly squeezed his shoulder. “Not if we save the company.” The archives loaded. Emelly’s fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling up the original merger documents.


And there it was—clean, unaltered, perfect. “Got it,” she breathed. But Lucas’s phone buzzed. A message from David: Leo’s lawyers just arrived at the courthouse. They’re filing early. Tony cursed. “We’re out of time.” Lucas’s voice was steel. “Then we go straight to the source. Emelly, call Jane. Tell her to meet us at Brown Group with everything she’s got.” Emelly didn’t ask questions. She dialed, her heart pounding. Jane answered on the first ring. “I’m already on it. Leo’s been shady for months—I’ve got receipts.” Lucas grabbed Emelly’s hand, his migraine fading again at her touch. “Let’s finish this.” As they raced toward the courthouse, the city lights blurred past. The lawsuit loomed. Leo’s trap was set. But Emelly Clus wasn’t about to let him win.