10x Cashback: Your Wealth Is Mine

59  It Wasn't Me

I stared at the article and it stared back, it's words carved into my brain like some kind of prophecy. My hands trembled as I read and reread it.

It was all there. The affair, Oliver's name, his affair partner, Margot and details of their movements in Monaco.

The article cited one of Oliver's business partners as their source and that was what, I believe,ade Quinn think it was me.

Who else was Oliver's business partner that needed investment and had also been in Monaco?

I gritted my teeth, Quinn's words echoing in my head.

"Jenny was right! Maybe I should've listened to her when she told me what a snake you are."

I turned off the tablet and sighed, putting my head into my hands.

Lincoln was long gone and I was alone in my office. With the deal called off, he had nothing else to do here. He had other things to be busy with.

"Shit." I cursed. I should've just asked for ten million or something like I originally planned. There was no reason she couldn't be a shareholder at the same company as Oliver.

I couldn't deny that I had dug my grave with my own hands. I had tried to be greedy, looking to inflate Sunset Inn's value.

I should've been content with the system rewards. Five hundred million dollars and Sunset Inn as it was had been a much better option than being more than a billion in debt.

Now that the news was out, Oliver would definitely pull out of the deal and I would be left with nothing but a crumbling business and a valuation that meant squat without capital.

Half a billion dollars on paper, but not a cent in reality.

I could try to seek funding elsewhere but with my current debt, I'm sure the system wouldn't make it easy.

That was when I heard the shout.

I frowned, getting out of my chair. What was going on?

The shout grew clearer. It was an angry person shouting my name. "What now?" I muttered to myself.

"NICO VOSS!"

The door to my office slammed open and standing there, red-faced and seething, was Oliver Adams.

Before I could say a word, he crossed the room in three furious strides, grabbed me by the collar, and shoved me against the wall.

"You think you can ruin me and get away with it?" He snarled, his face inches from mine.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said, my hands coming up to grip his. I could try pushing him off but no. Not yet.

"Don't play dumb with me!" He bellowed. "That article, Nico! I know you're behind this. You did this! To destroy me!"

My staff had gathered in the hallway, their shocked faces peeking through the open door. Whispers spread like wildfire, but no one dared to intervene.

"Oliver, I didn't-"

"Shut up!" He snapped, slamming me back against the wall. The force of it rattled a framed certificate, which fell to the floor with a loud crash.

"I'll make you pay for this." He hissed. "Blackmail, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference with economic relations, any lawsuit I can think of, I'll slap it on you."

"And that's just the start." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a furious hiss. "I'll destroy everything you have, Nico. I'll burn Sunset Inn to the ground if I have to. You want to play dirty? Fine. I'll bury you."

I honestly should've expected this but the shock from everything that had happened today still had me reeling.

His words now were hitting me like a sledgehammer. Was this how the system intended to make me pay my debts? By drowning me in lawsuits?

Panic threatened to overwhelm me but I kept my composure, forcing my heart to beat to a steady rhythm.

"Oliver, listen to me." I said, trying to get through to him. "I wasn't behind this. I swear."

"If it's not you, then who?" He barked.

I had no answer to that. What would I say? That it had been my system? Or that I knew who had done it?

I only had one answer for him.

"I don't know." I said. "But it wasn't me."

Oliver's grip tightened on my collar and for a moment, I thought he might actually hit me. But then he released me with a shove.

"You're a liar." He said coldly. "And you're going to regret this."

He turned on his heel and stormed out, leaving me standing there. My staff scattered like leaves in the wind, gossiping about what they'd just witnessed.

I sank into my chair, my legs barely able to hold me up. I hadn't done anything but knowing the system, the leak would probably be traced to me.

At this point, there was nothing I could do but accept my reward. The damage was already done.

For hours, I sat in my office, staring at the article on my desk. The words blurred together, their meaning lost in the chaos of my thoughts.

Calls and emails poured in, with people demanding answers and staff requesting instructions but I sat there in a trance.

When I jolted back to reality, it was night and the office was empty. Everyone had gone home.

I went down to my car, having the feeling of being watched.

I glanced over my shoulder but the parking lot was empty.

Shaking my head, I climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.

I couldn't remember anything of the drive home. All I knew was that I got home in one piece.

My mind was just replaying Oliver's threat over and over again.

I entered the house, stumbling in the dark to the kitchen.

I poured myself a drink, my hands shaking so badly that I spilled half the liquor on the counter. Sitting down at the kitchen table, I stared into the glass.

"What do I do now?" I whispered.

As if on cue, my phone buzzed on the table. I picked it up, my heart sinking when I saw the notification. It was another article. Another headline.

"Sunset Inn CEO Nico Voss Accused of Corporate Sabotage by Billionaire Oliver Adams." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

My eyes were fixed on the word, billionaire. I frowned at it and when it clicked, my brain pulled itself out of its funk.

I had a way to get myself out of this mess.

The third stamp holder.