Taming My Sugar Mommy
Chapter 68: The Warning Signs

Chapter 68: The Warning Signs

Christina watched Isabella storm back into the Ashworth building, her normally composed demeanor fractured by barely contained fury. She’d been monitoring Isabella’s meeting with Davies remotely, knowing it wouldn’t go well but unable to intervene directly. Now she had to manage the fallout while continuing her own investigation.

She slipped into her small office—little more than a converted supply closet that gave her privacy for surveillance work—and pulled up the security footage she’d been analyzing earlier. The timestamps confirmed what she’d suspected: the gaps in the executive floor camera feeds aligned perfectly with Marcus’s after-hours visits.

Christina hadn’t been entirely truthful with Liam. She hadn’t just noticed deleted footage; she’d recovered most of it from the backup server Marcus didn’t know existed. The restored video showed him methodically searching Isabella’s office, photographing documents, copying files. But he wasn’t working alone—someone had disabled the alarm system for him, someone with higher access than a security chief would normally possess.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Isabella: Need you in security center. Now.

Christina grabbed her tablet and headed downstairs, finding Isabella with the security technician reviewing the footage of Marcus meeting with Davies’ executive. She feigned surprise, widening her eyes slightly as she approached.

"What’s going on?" she asked, keeping her voice carefully neutral as she studied the screen. ’Play it cool. Don’t reveal how much you already know.’

Isabella turned to her, eyes blazing. "Marcus is compromised. He’s been feeding information to Davies." She gestured to the screen where Marcus could be seen handing something to Patricia Winters. "How did we miss this?"

Christina furrowed her brow, pretending this was news to her. "I’ve had some concerns about system access anomalies, but nothing concrete until now." She moved closer to the monitor, studying it with false intensity. ’This is the same footage I recovered three days ago. She can’t know I’ve been sitting on this.’

"How long have these anomalies been happening?" Isabella demanded.

Christina hesitated, calculating how much to reveal. "The first irregularities appeared about three weeks ago. Small things—system access at odd hours, slight discrepancies in the log files."

"And you didn’t think to mention this?" Isabella’s voice was dangerously quiet.

"I needed to be certain before causing alarm," Christina replied, maintaining her calm facade. "Security concerns require verification, especially when they involve trusted personnel."

The security technician shifted uncomfortably, clearly wanting to be anywhere but in the middle of this conversation.

"You," Isabella pointed at him, "will speak of this to no one. Understood?"

He nodded quickly.

"Good. Now leave us."

After he scurried out, Isabella turned her full attention to Christina. "What else haven’t you told me?"

Christina considered her words carefully. ’Careful now. Give her enough to believe you’re being transparent, but not everything.’ "Marcus isn’t acting alone. The system logs show his access credentials aren’t sufficient for some of the areas he’s been entering. Someone higher up is helping him."

"Who?"

"I don’t know yet. But I’m narrowing it down."

Isabella paced the small room, her heels clicking sharply against the concrete floor. "Davies knew things, Christina. Internal projections, confidential negotiations, the Dubai overruns—things that only the board and executive team would know."

"Which means we need to be careful who we trust right now," Christina said. "Even among your inner circle."

Isabella stopped pacing. "I’ve known some of these people for decades."

"And Marcus has worked for you for years," Christina countered. "Loyalty changes when the right pressure is applied."

Isabella’s phone chimed—another message from Davies’ office, no doubt. She ignored it. "What about Liam? Is he clean?"

Christina kept her expression neutral despite the sudden acceleration of her pulse. ’Careful. Don’t show your hand.’ "I’m still verifying everyone," she said carefully. "But so far, I haven’t seen anything suspicious in his activities."

It wasn’t exactly a lie. What she’d observed wasn’t necessarily suspicious—just unexpected. Liam’s meeting with Seraphina could have been innocent. His distracted behavior could be explained by the building tension. But Christina hadn’t survived this long by taking chances.

"Keep watching him anyway," Isabella instructed. "He has access to everything."

"Speaking of access," Christina redirected, "I think we need to set a trap. Let certain information flow to specific individuals and see where it ends up."

Isabella nodded slowly. "False leads."

"Exactly. Different versions of the same basic information, each with subtle tells that would identify the source of any leak."

"Do it," Isabella decided. "But I want daily reports, not summaries when you feel like sharing."

Christina accepted the rebuke with a slight nod. "Of course."

After leaving the security center, Christina headed back to her office but found Liam waiting for her, leaning against the wall beside her door.

"Everything alright?" he asked, his tone casual but his eyes sharp. "Isabella looks like she’s ready to burn the building down."

"Rough meeting with Davies," Christina replied, moving past him to unlock her door. "You know how these things go."

Liam followed her into the small space, closing the door behind him. In the confined area, his presence felt more imposing than usual. "You implied something earlier about Seraphina. I’d like clarification."

Christina turned to face him, maintaining the professional distance their roles required despite the cramped quarters. ’He’s fishing. Trying to determine how much I know.’ "I implied nothing. I stated a fact. Seraphina met with you, tried to drive a wedge between you and Isabella, and later met with Davies."

"You were following me?" A flash of something—alarm? calculation?—crossed his face.

"I follow everyone who might pose a threat to Isabella," she replied evenly. "Right now, that’s a long list."

Liam moved closer, his voice dropping. "You think I’m a threat?"

"I think you’re keeping secrets," Christina said, refusing to back away despite their proximity. "And secrets are dangerous right now."

Something shifted in Liam’s expression—a calculated decision being made in real time. "Some secrets protect people, Christina. You of all people should understand that."

The comment hit with surprising precision. She studied his face, looking for tells. ’How much does he know about my past?’ "What exactly do you know about me?"

"Enough," he replied simply. "Just like you know enough about me to realize I would never betray Isabella."

They stood in silence, the air between them charged with unspoken questions and half-formed accusations.

"Marcus is compromised," Christina finally said, testing the waters.

Liam didn’t look surprised. "I know."

"How long have you known?"

"About three weeks. I was waiting to see who he was working with."

Christina raised an eyebrow. "That’s exactly what I was doing."

A ghost of a smile touched Liam’s lips. "Great minds."

"Or paranoid ones," she countered.

"In our line of work, paranoia is a virtue." He stepped back, creating some distance between them. "Isabella’s setting a trap?"

Christina nodded. "False information, different versions to different people."

"Smart. But dangerous if Davies realizes what she’s doing."

"Everything’s dangerous right now," Christina replied. "Which is why I need to know where you stand with Seraphina."

Liam’s expression closed off slightly. "She approached me. Suggested Isabella doesn’t appreciate my... talents. Offered opportunities elsewhere."

"And?"

"And I let her think I was considering it." His gaze held hers steadily. "Sometimes the best way to learn someone’s plans is to let them believe you’re part of them."

Christina assessed the statement, weighing it against her instincts. ’He’s either telling the truth or he’s an exceptional liar.’ "You didn’t tell Isabella."

"Neither did you," he pointed out. "About following me, about Seraphina. Why is that?"

She didn’t answer immediately, unsure herself why she’d withheld that particular information from Isabella. ’Because something about you doesn’t add up, and I need to figure it out before involving her.’ "I’m still gathering data," she finally said.

"Is that what we’re calling it?" His tone held a hint of something undefinable—not quite mockery, not quite understanding.

Christina moved toward the door, signaling the end of the conversation. "I have work to do. And apparently, so do you."

Liam nodded, accepting the dismissal. At the doorway, he paused. "For what it’s worth, I think your instincts about Seraphina are right. She’s playing multiple angles. The question is why."

After he left, Christina sat at her desk, pulling up the data she’d collected on Liam over the past several weeks. His movements, his communications, his inexplicable ability to anticipate problems before they arose. On paper, he was exactly what he claimed to be—Isabella’s extremely competent assistant. But Christina had learned long ago that paper credentials rarely told the whole story.

She opened a secure connection and sent a message to her contact in federal intelligence: Need deep background on Liam Campbell. Priority alpha.

The reply came faster than expected: Request denied. Subject classified.

Christina stared at the screen, a cold feeling settling in her stomach. ’Classified? What the hell is he involved in?’ Classified meant government involvement. But which agency? And why was Liam, supposedly just an executive assistant, listed as a classified subject?

She closed the connection and erased all traces of the exchange, her mind racing through possibilities. If Liam had government ties, his presence at Ashworth wasn’t coincidental. But was he there to protect Isabella or to monitor her? And did his interest in the Davies situation indicate broader concerns than corporate espionage?

Too many questions, too few answers. Christina pulled up the surveillance feeds, watching as Isabella worked in her office, as Marcus conducted his regular security rounds, as Liam coordinated tomorrow’s schedule with his usual efficiency. Everyone playing their parts perfectly while underneath, currents of deception swirled ever stronger.

’I need to get closer to him,’ she thought, watching Liam’s careful movements on the monitor. ’Close enough to see what he’s hiding, but not so close that he realizes I’m onto him.’

She made a decision then—she would continue watching, gathering evidence, but she would keep her suspicions about Liam to herself for now. Not because she trusted him, but because uncertainty made him unpredictable. And unpredictable players were dangerous to confront without adequate preparation.

Tomorrow, Isabella would set her trap. And Christina would be watching everyone when it snapped shut.

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