Taming My Sugar Mommy
Chapter 98: The weight of Trust

Chapter 98: The weight of Trust

Isabella signed the financial approval with her usual precision, the fountain pen gliding smoothly across the bottom line. The document—a routine quarterly allocation for their Asia-Pacific expansion—seemed unremarkable among the dozens requiring her attention before the Davies meeting.

"That’s the last one for now," her assistant said, gathering the papers. "Legal needs these by eight."

"Thank you, Rachel." Isabella checked her watch—5:47 AM. She’d never left the office. "Have the car ready at eight-thirty. And send in Marcus when he arrives."

Alone again, Isabella closed her eyes briefly. The exhaustion was bone-deep, but her mind remained razor-sharp, dissecting the events of the previous night. Liam’s arrest. Diana’s promise. The security footage with its convenient blind spot. Jeremy’s urgency to inform the board. It all formed a pattern that grew more disturbing with each passing hour.

Her private line rang.

"Diana," she answered.

"I have preliminary results." The detective’s voice was grim. "The drives don’t match—but not in the way you’d expect. The forensics team found evidence of tampering on both drives, but they’re two entirely different sets of falsified documents."

Isabella’s grip tightened on the receiver. "Meaning?"

"Meaning someone wanted you to think Campbell was guilty, while simultaneously creating a second trail that would implicate someone else."

"Who?"

Diana hesitated. "The second set has your digital signature embedded in the code. If these records were discovered, it would look like you orchestrated everything."

Isabella closed her eyes. "Thank you, Diana. Keep him safe."

She hung up just as her office door opened. Marcus entered, his tall frame silhouetted against the morning light filtering through the hallway windows. At forty-eight, he carried himself with the quiet confidence that had drawn Isabella to him three years ago. Their relationship, kept meticulously separate from business, was one of the few areas of her life untouched by corporate politics.

"You didn’t come home," he observed, setting a fresh change of clothes on the chair.

"There wasn’t time." She accepted the coffee he offered. "The Davies meeting has been moved up."

Marcus studied her carefully. "And Liam Campbell?"

"In custody." Her voice remained neutral, revealing nothing.

"For crimes he didn’t commit." It wasn’t a question.

Isabella met his gaze. "You sound very certain."

"I know a setup when I see one." He moved to the window, surveying the skyline. "The question is whether you’ve realized who’s really behind it."

"I have my suspicions."

"But not proof," he finished. "Which is why Campbell is still detained and you’re signing documents at dawn."

Isabella set down her coffee. "I need time."

"Which is exactly what they’re not giving you." Marcus turned back to her. "Isabella, you need to cancel the Davies meeting. Push it back until you’ve sorted this out."

"And show weakness? Signal to the board that something’s wrong?" She shook her head. "That would accelerate whatever they have planned."

"So you’ll walk into a trap instead?"

She stood, moving around her desk to join him. "No. I’ll spring it."

The executive conference room hummed with anticipation. Board members and senior executives filled the seats around the massive table, while legal teams from both Ashworth Enterprises and Davies International occupied the perimeter.

Isabella entered precisely at nine, Christina and Marcus flanking her. Seraphina sat near the head of the table, her smile pleasant but her eyes calculating. Jeremy stood by the projection screen, tablet in hand.

"Good morning," Isabella addressed the room, taking her place at the head of the table. "I understand we’re eager to finalize the Davies integration ahead of schedule."

Samuel Davies, a silver-haired veteran of the industry, nodded. "My team is prepared to execute the final documents today."

"Excellent," Isabella replied smoothly. "Before we proceed, I’d like to address a security matter that arose last night."

A ripple of unease passed through the room. Seraphina’s smile tightened imperceptibly.

"Our Chief Technology Officer was detained for questioning regarding potential data breaches," Isabella continued. "While the investigation is ongoing, I want to assure everyone that our systems remain secure and our financial position uncompromised."

Jeremy cleared his throat. "Actually, Isabella, that’s not entirely accurate." He tapped his tablet, and the screen behind him filled with financial data. "We’ve uncovered discrepancies in our quarterly filings that may impact the Davies valuation."

Isabella maintained her composure. "This is the first I’m hearing of this, Jeremy. Perhaps you should have brought these concerns to me directly."

"I tried," he reminded her, "last night."

The board chairman leaned forward. "What kind of discrepancies are we talking about?"

Jeremy displayed a new set of figures. "Our APAC expansion costs have been systematically underreported for the past three quarters. The actual exposure is nearly double what’s been disclosed to shareholders and the board."

The room erupted in murmurs. Isabella watched Seraphina, noting how she remained perfectly still, her expression one of practiced concern.

"These are serious allegations," Isabella said calmly. "I’d like to know when and how you discovered this information."

"The anomalies were flagged by our internal audit team yesterday afternoon," Jeremy explained. "Seraphina brought them to my attention, and we’ve been verifying the data ever since."

Isabella turned to her CFO. "Interesting timing, considering you signed off on those same reports three months ago."

"Which is why I’m devastated by this discovery," Seraphina replied, her voice carrying just the right note of regret. "I believed the numbers Mr. Campbell provided were accurate."

"Yet you didn’t come to me with these concerns."

"You were dealing with Campbell’s arrest," Seraphina countered. "And frankly, Isabella, given that these discrepancies were authorized with your signature, we thought it prudent to gather all the facts before approaching you."

The implication hung in the air. Samuel Davies exchanged glances with his legal team.

"In light of these developments," the board chairman said gravely, "I suggest we postpone today’s signing until these matters are clarified."

"I agree," Samuel Davies added, gathering his papers. "My shareholders would expect nothing less than complete transparency."

Isabella watched as months of negotiation threatened to collapse. "If I may," she said, her voice commanding attention, "I believe we’re looking at more than simple discrepancies. We’re witnessing an orchestrated attempt to derail this merger."

She stood, commanding the room. "Last night, security logs show unauthorized access to our financial systems—access that occurred shortly before Mr. Campbell was conveniently found in the server room. What Mr. Jeremy and Ms. Seraphina have failed to mention is that someone altered those financial records twice—once to implicate Mr. Campbell, and once to implicate me."

She turned to Jeremy. "What’s curious is how quickly you discovered these alterations, given that they occurred after midnight."

Jeremy’s confidence wavered. "Our systems flagged the inconsistencies automatically."

"Did they?" Isabella pressed a button on her remote, and the screen changed to display a different set of logs. "Because our security protocols show that the alert system was manually disabled between 11 PM and 2 AM. The only alert that went through was the one signaling Liam’s badge access—which is particularly interesting since his clearance had been revoked days earlier."

Seraphina’s composure cracked. "What are you suggesting?"

"I’m not suggesting anything," Isabella replied. "I’m stating facts. Detective?"

The conference room door opened, and Detective Diana entered, followed by two officers and Liam Campbell, looking exhausted but resolute.

"Ms. Ashworth requested a forensic analysis of the financial systems," Diana announced. "We’ve identified evidence of systematic tampering dating back approximately four months. The alterations were made using executive credentials that appear to have been duplicated without authorization."

"This is absurd," Jeremy protested. "You can’t possibly have completed a thorough investigation overnight."

"We didn’t," Diana agreed. "We’ve been investigating financial irregularities at Ashworth Enterprises for three weeks, following a whistleblower report."

All eyes turned to Liam.

"Not Mr. Campbell," Diana clarified. "The report came from Ms. Ashworth herself."

The revelation sent shockwaves through the room. Isabella moved to stand beside Liam.

"Three weeks ago, I noticed discrepancies in system access patterns," she explained. "Rather than making accusations without proof, I initiated an independent investigation. What we found was a sophisticated scheme to manipulate our financial position, making us appear either more valuable to Davies International or vulnerable to a hostile takeover, depending on which set of fabricated documents was discovered."

Samuel Davies looked between Isabella and Seraphina. "And you believe Ms. Seraphina is responsible?"

"The evidence points to collusion between Ms. Seraphina and Mr. Jeremy ," Detective Diana confirmed. "We have records of unusual financial transactions between offshore accounts linked to both executives, as well as communications with a third party at Nexus Capital."

The name hung in the air. Nexus Capital—Ashworth’s largest competitor and the company that had attempted to acquire them twice before.

Seraphina’s facade finally crumbled. "You can’t prove any of this."

"Actually," Christina stepped forward, placing a drive on the conference table, "we can. This contains backup copies of the original, unaltered financial records, secured on an air-gapped system that only Ms. Ashworth and I could access."

Isabella surveyed the room, her gaze finally settling on Seraphina. "You made one fundamental miscalculation. You assumed I trusted blindly—that I wouldn’t verify, wouldn’t question, wouldn’t investigate. That was never who I was."

Seraphina’s eyes hardened. "You should have trusted me, Bella." The childhood nickname felt like a slap. "We could have built something extraordinary together."

"At what cost?" Isabella asked quietly.

As security escorted Seraphina and Jeremy from the room, Isabella turned to the board and Samuel Davies. "I understand if you wish to reevaluate our agreement in light of these events. Transparency and integrity are non-negotiable in my company, and I apologize for the disruption."

Samuel Davies studied her for a long moment. "Ms. Ashworth, in thirty years of business, I’ve learned that character reveals itself in crisis. You’ve demonstrated the kind of leadership my company would be proud to align with." He extended his hand. "I see no reason to delay our partnership."

Hours later, Isabella stood in her office, watching the city lights emerge as dusk settled. The Davies agreement was signed, Seraphina and Jeremy were in custody, and the board had unanimously reaffirmed their confidence in her leadership.

Liam knocked gently on her open door. "You could have told me."

"I couldn’t risk it," she replied. "If you’d known it was a trap, you might have reacted differently."

"You let me believe you thought I was guilty."

"I let everyone believe what they needed to," she corrected. "Including Seraphina and Jeremy."

Marcus entered behind Liam. "The press release is ready. The market will know by morning."

Isabella nodded. "Thank you. Both of you."

As Liam departed, Marcus approached her. "You took an enormous risk."

"I had no choice." She turned to face him. "Trust is invaluable, Marcus, but verification is what keeps us honest."

He took her hand. "And who verifies you, Isabella Ashworth?"

She smiled faintly, the weight of the past twenty-four hours finally showing in her eyes. "That’s why I have you."

Outside, the city continued its relentless pace, unaware of how close one of its corporate giants had come to falling. Inside, Isabella finally allowed herself to exhale, knowing that while the battle was won, the war for trust—both given and received—would never truly end.