The bank wasn''t pushing any harder, but they made it clear: until the investigation wrapped up, every credit line would stay frozen.


    Reese sat in the conference room, listening to department updates, weighed down by a wave of helplessness. So Sebastian had found out what the board had done, and his first move was to protect Ratcliff Global. Of course. With Sebastian, she was always the one left behind.


    "What''s the real story with the environmental paperwork?" Reese finally asked, letting out a long breath. She looked over at the ountant, who''d started thepany with her grandfather and knew every detail of its past.


    He sighed, looking troubled. "Back then, when we were just getting started, money was tight. We didn''t update the environmental equipment as quickly as we should have and the paperworkgged behind, but we never went over the legal emission limits. We fixed things pretty fast, got everything up to code, and our inspections have all been fine since. Those videos online must''ve been from before we upgraded, and someone blurred the dates and locations on purpose."


    "And what about the former employees?" Reese asked.


    "They were let gost month for underperforming," the HR manager said. "We gave them severance ording toborws."


    Reese rubbed her forehead. This was messier than she''d thought. Sebastian might be twisting the truth, but Ramos Corporation really did havepliance issues in the early days. That gave him the opening he needed. The investigation would take time, but thepany couldn''t afford the daily losses from the shutdown. Even with Matthew backing her up, she couldn''t just throw his money away.


    Back in her office, Reese slumped in her chair, exhaustion settling deep in her bones. The sky outside was turning gray, shadows filling the room. She scrolled to Matthew''s number on her phone, hesitated, but didn''t call.


    Suddenly, the lights flicked on. Reese squinted, hand over her eyes. Matthew was standing in the doorway. She blinked, caught off guard.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "I saw what''s ''s been going on online," Matthew said, stepping in and taking a seat beside her. "As soon as I finished with Bailey, I came over. called a friend at the agency. They''re going to double-check everything. They won''t just take Sebastian''s word for it." He pulled a folder from his bag and handed it to her. "I just picked this up from the agent handling Leslie''s case. You should see this."


    "Leslie''s been trying to cut a deal for a lighter sentence. Since she couldn''t pin anything on you, she turned around and went after Ratcliff Global.


    "She ims that back in the day, Ratcliff Global and Big X struck a deal to share Al technology, which meant core domestic tech was transferred out. ording to Leslie, Sebastian not only knew about this-he was directly involved.


    "Ratcliff Global kept it quiet, especially when they wanted the de partnership with ckOak."


    Matthew nced out the window, a flicker of disdain in his eyes. "The Ratcliffs are connected, no doubt about it. Whatever strings they pulled no one found this during background checks. If Sebastian hadn''t vouched for Leslie this time, maybe none of this would''vee out. But now, he can''t just y the innocent victim. The NSB has already put Leslie''s testimony together and sent it up the chain. Ratcliff Global is about to be investigated. Sebastian won''t be able to stir up any more trouble."


    Reese stared at him, stunned. Ratcliff Global had worked with Big X? So Sebastian had been in touch with Leslie all these years. No wonder he was so desperate to have her be Leslie''s surrogate. Now that the past was catching up may Sebastian was finally getting what he deserved.