Serena returned to her room with Snuggle in her arms and called Alicia.
"Look into the financial structure of Voyage Group and its subsidiaries. Then, reach out to someone who can go undercover and pretend to be an investor interested in a partnership. Try to get information on how to join a Voyage Group subsidiary, and see if we can get our hands on some internal documents."
Alicia sounded confused as she replied, "Do you think that Voyage Group's subsidiary might be using the company's name without permission?"
"Yeah. Check it out." Serena hung up, poured food into Snuggle's dish, and stood in quiet thought.
If that subsidiary really was just a front to funnel money, why weren't they casting a wider net? Why target her company, Amber Group, of all things?
Her mind drifted back to the message Natalie had sent that morning. "Howard and Sarah seem way too calm…"
A suspicion was already forming in her mind.
…
At Jansen Group, Howard and Sarah were having an emergency meeting. Howard's face was stormy. "Why hasn't she taken the bait yet?"
Sarah was pacing like a cat on a hot tin roof while her eyes were locked on the staff handling the case.
"Didn't you say Voyage Group agreed to let us use their name? Why haven't we been able to fool Serena yet? This is a multimillion-dollar deal. How is she not tempted at all?"
The employee sighed. "Of course she's tempted. She hasn't rejected any of the proposals or contracts we offered.
"But she suddenly claimed she wasn't feeling well today and had to go to the hospital for a full checkup. So, she left our people sitting there.
"Amber Group's staff were polite, and even treated us like VIPs, but no one brought up the contract. We have no idea what changed."
Howard and Sarah exchanged a sharp look. Could it be that Serena had sensed something? Was that why she was hesitating?
Howard was still racking his brain for a way to get Serena to bite when a message came in from Amber Group.
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