Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 32

Just then, Hester's phone rang. It was Gael.

Hester stood up, answering the call as she walked toward the door. "Gael, I just got to the law firm. I've got a few minutes, what's up?"

She opened the office door and pulled it shut behind her.

Inside, Jasper's fingers paused over his keyboard. He looked up at the closed door, a thoughtful expression crossing his features.

...

There was a small, manicured courtyard just outside the firm. Hester walked over and took a seat on a wooden bench.

Over the phone, Gael's voice was dead serious. "Just as you suspected. Joanne in Finance and Melody are completely in bed together. They've probably skimmed a massive amount of company funds over the years!"

Hester wasn't surprised. "Don't waste time arguing with them. Use my executive authorization to pull the financial statements for the last five years."

"Already did. But Joanne is stone-walling. First, she claimed she never got Melody's authorization. Then, when I literally slammed Melody's demotion notice onto her desk, she changed her tune and said pulling five years of records takes time. I told her I needed them by the end of the day, but crickets so far."

"They definitely won't hand them over today, but don't push too hard. We just need to make them sweat. In a company this size, Joanne isn't cooking the books alone. Someone with weaker nerves will crack first. Once they do, we'll follow the trail right to Melody."

"Got it." Gael paused, then added, "By the way, I've been keeping an eye on that new girl, Evelyn. She seems genuinely sweet and hardworking. I think we should try to bring her into our camp."

"Alright. Keep observing her. Once you're sure we can trust her, reach out privately."

"Will do. When do you think you'll be done over there? The clinic called—the DNA test results are ready."

Hester's lips curved into a faint smile as she ended the call. As she stood up, a pair of soft, tiny arms suddenly wrapped around her legs. Through the thin fabric of her sundress, she could feel a warm, little body pressing against her.

She paused, glancing down to meet a pair of round eyes. It was a little girl, absolutely breathtaking, with a flawless glow to her skin.

Hester frowned slightly, scanning the courtyard, but there were no adults in sight.

She gently patted the little girl's head, her voice softening. "Sweetheart, did you lose your mommy and daddy?"

The little girl blinked her gorgeous eyes, looked up at Hester, and said in a sweet, soft voice, "Mama~"

Hester froze.