"Approximately twenty-one million dollars over four years."
Emily stared at him.
"Twenty-one million?"
Thomas nodded.
"Some payments were disguised as consulting fees. Others were recorded as restructuring expenses."
Emily looked at the spreadsheet.
Every payment had been approved by Richard Hayes.
But several had been authorized by directors.
She recognized the names.
Margaret Lewis.
Andrew Collins.
Peter Donovan.
Three people who had supported Richard during previous meetings.
Emily slowly closed the laptop.
"Have you contacted the auditors?"
Thomas nodded.
"They're reviewing everything."
"Good."
Thomas hesitated.
"There is something else."
Emily looked up.
"What?"
Thomas pointed toward a column.
"Some of the payments went to a company called Sterling Holdings."
Emily felt her pulse quicken.
"Victor?"
Thomas nodded.
"Indirectly."
She stared at the records.
The arrangement was more complicated than she had imagined.
Victor had not simply attempted to acquire Maison Aurelia.
He had been extracting money from it.
For years.
And Richard had been helping him.
Emily looked toward the window.
The city seemed strangely quiet.
She thought of her father.
She thought of Arthur.
She thought of Sophia.
Then she asked a question.
"Can we recover the money?"
Thomas nodded.
"Some of it."
Emily smiled faintly.
"Then let's begin."
Sophia had never imagined that a promotion could change her life so completely.
She had spent four years standing behind the counter, helping customers choose wedding rings and repairing bracelets.
Now she was responsible for an entirely new department.
Her office was small.
The desk was simple.
The walls were empty.
But the first thing she placed inside was a photograph of Arthur Whitmore.
Beneath it, she wrote a sentence.
Kindness is not a weakness.
Emily found her there that afternoon.
She smiled.
"That's beautiful."
Sophia turned.
"Thank you."
Emily glanced at the photograph.
"Do you think my grandfather would have approved?"
Sophia laughed.
"I think he would have insisted on a better frame."
Emily smiled.
Then she became serious.
"How are the employees?"
Sophia looked toward the hallway.
"Better."
"Really?"
"Some are still afraid. They think the changes will disappear when the board gets tired of hearing about them."
Emily nodded.
"Then we have to prove they won't."
Sophia looked at her.
"You really believe we can save the company?"
Emily answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
Sophia smiled.
"Why?"
Emily looked at the photograph.
"Because people still care."
The first public hearing was scheduled for the following week.
Victor Sterling's lawyers had filed a complaint challenging Emily's voting rights.
They argued that the Carter Family Trust was improperly activated.
They claimed the original agreement was outdated.
They demanded that the company suspend its restructuring until the dispute was resolved.
Emily's lawyers prepared a response.
James Miller reviewed every document.
Thomas Bennett verified the financial records.
Sophia collected employee statements.
And Eleanor prepared a letter.
A letter that Arthur had written shortly before his death.
It was addressed to the board.
It contained a single sentence.
If my granddaughter ever comes to you asking for the truth, give her the respect I failed to give her when I should have trusted her with everything.
Emily read the sentence several times.
Then she looked at Eleanor.
"Why didn't he trust me?"
Eleanor shook her head.
"He did."
Emily frowned.
"Then why?"
Eleanor smiled sadly.
"Because he wanted you to have a childhood."
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
For eighteen years, she had wondered whether her grandfather had hidden the truth because he didn't believe she was strong enough to handle it.
Now she understood.
He had hidden it because he loved her.
Because he wanted her to grow up without fear.
Because he wanted her to remember her father as a man who loved her, not as a man who had died fighting a powerful enemy.
Emily folded the letter.
Then she whispered.
"I wish he had told me."
Eleanor took her hand.
"So do I."
The night before the hearing, Emily returned to the workshop.
She sat beside the workbench.
The first diamond rested inside its glass case.
She looked at it for a long time.
Then she took out her father's photograph.
His smile seemed almost alive.
Emily whispered.
"I don't know if I'll win."
The room remained silent.
"I don't know if they'll believe me."
She touched the photograph.
"But I'm going to try."
Then she remembered something Arthur had told her when she was seven.
The world doesn't always reward people who do the right thing.