Chapter 3 - The Woman Hidden in the Company
Arthur Gallagher did not move.
For several seconds, he stood in the doorway of his office, staring at the photograph in Paige Bennett's hand.
Not the picture.
The handwriting.
Because Arthur knew that handwriting better than he knew his own.
The sharp angles.
The heavy pressure on certain letters.
The way Patrick Doyle always wrote as if every word carried a warning.
Five years ago, Arthur watched Patrick die.
Five years ago, he buried every memory connected to him.
And now Patrick was speaking from the grave.
Through Paige.
"Give me the photo."
Arthur's voice was calm.
Too calm.
Paige noticed.
The calmer Arthur became, the more dangerous the situation was.
She slowly handed it over.
Arthur took the picture.
His fingers tightened around the edges.
Leo entered the office moments later and immediately stopped when he saw Arthur's expression.
"What happened?"
Arthur didn't answer.
Leo looked at Paige.
Then at the photograph.
Then back at Arthur.
"No."
Arthur looked at him.
Leo stepped closer.
"That's impossible."
Arthur turned the photograph around.
Leo saw the message.
His face changed.
Because Leo Mercer was one of the few people alive who knew Patrick Doyle.
And one of the few who knew what Patrick's betrayal had cost Arthur.
"Where did this come from?" Leo asked.
Paige answered.
"It was on Arthur's desk when I arrived."
Leo looked confused.
"Nobody gets into this office."
Paige looked at him.
"Someone did."
That sentence stayed in the room.
Arthur placed the photo down.
"Check the cameras."
Leo immediately pulled out his phone.
"I'll handle it."
Arthur looked at Paige.
"You received a call last night."
Paige froze.
She had not told him.
"How did you know?"
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"Your expression changed when you walked in."
Paige looked away.
"My mother called."
Arthur waited.
Paige hesitated.
Then she said:
"She said something about you."
The room became colder.
"What?"
Paige looked at him.
"She told me not to let you find the girl."
Arthur stared.
"What girl?"
"I don't know."
A strange silence followed.
Arthur walked toward the window.
For the first time, Paige saw uncertainty in him.
Not weakness.
Something different.
A man who had spent years believing he understood every enemy suddenly realizing there was a missing piece.
"Your mother knows Patrick Doyle?"
Paige's expression changed.
"I don't know."
Arthur turned.
"Think carefully."
Paige disliked his tone.
It sounded like an interrogation.
"My mother has been sick for a long time."
"That wasn't my question."
Paige's jaw tightened.
"Then ask a better one."
Leo looked up from his phone.
Everyone stopped.
Because Paige Bennett had just challenged Arthur Gallagher.
Again.
Arthur stared at her.
Most people apologized when they realized they had crossed a line.
Paige crossed the line and stood there.
Finally, Arthur spoke.
"Did your mother ever mention Patrick Doyle?"
Paige thought.
She searched through memories.
Her mother before the illness.
Old conversations.
Old stories.
Then something appeared.
A small detail.
Something she had ignored.
"She used to say a name."
Arthur's eyes sharpened.
"What name?"
Paige looked at him.
"Patrick."
The room went silent.
Leo slowly lowered his phone.
Arthur's expression changed.
"Your mother knew him."
"I don't know."
"You just said—"
"I said she mentioned his name."
Paige looked frustrated.
"My mother forgot my birthday last month. She forgot the street she lived on for twenty years. I don't know what memories are real anymore."
For a moment, Arthur said nothing.
Then something unexpected happened.
His expression softened.
Only slightly.
But Paige noticed.
Because she was beginning to understand something about Arthur Gallagher.
He was not emotionless.
He was someone who had locked every emotion away because opening the door once almost destroyed him.
"What exactly did she say?" Arthur asked.
Paige looked down.
"She said..."
She hesitated.
"She said, 'Don't let Arthur find the girl.'"
Arthur looked at the photograph again.
The message.
The handwriting.
The daughter.
Everything connected.
Except one thing.
Who was the girl?
Leo suddenly spoke.
"I found something."
Everyone looked at him.
He turned his laptop around.
Security footage from the previous night.
The executive floor.
A person entering Arthur's office at 2:14 a.m.
The camera angle only showed a silhouette.
A woman.
Dark hair.
Long coat.
She moved confidently.
Like she knew exactly where she was going.
Arthur watched the screen.
"Enhance the face."
Leo did.
The image became clearer.
Not enough.
But enough to reveal one thing.
The woman was not a stranger.
She worked there.
Paige stepped closer.
"Who is that?"
Leo zoomed in.
Then he stopped.
Arthur noticed.
"Leo."
Leo swallowed.
"Arthur..."
"Who is she?"
Leo looked at the screen.
Then at Paige.
Then back at Arthur.
"She's been working in your company for eight months."
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"Name."
Leo answered quietly.
"Emily Doyle."
The room froze.
Patrick Doyle's daughter.
The woman who was never supposed to exist.
The woman who had been inside Arthur's company all along.
Arthur turned toward Paige.
For some reason, he looked more concerned about her than himself.
"Stay away from her."
Paige frowned.
"Why?"
"Because if Patrick hid her from me, there was a reason."
"And if she isn't your enemy?"
Arthur looked at her.
The question bothered him.
Because it sounded exactly like something Patrick would have said.
Before betraying him.
Before everything fell apart.
Later that afternoon, Arthur ordered a full investigation into Emily Doyle.
Every document.
Every record.
Every connection.
The results came back quickly.
Too quickly.
Emily Doyle's employee file was clean.
Almost too clean.
No family history.
No previous employment records before Gallagher Freight & Harbor.
No social media.
No trace.
Like she had appeared out of nowhere.
"That's impossible," Leo said.
Arthur looked at the files.
"Nothing is impossible."
Leo lowered his voice.
"Arthur."
"What?"
"You know what this means."
Arthur didn't answer.
Because he did.
Someone had spent years preparing this.
Someone had placed Emily inside his company.
Someone had waited.
For what?
That was the question.
And Arthur hated not knowing.
Meanwhile, Paige sat alone at her desk.
She looked at the photograph.
Patrick and Emily.
There was something strange.
Something she could not explain.
The woman in the picture looked familiar.
Not like someone she had met.
Like someone she had seen before.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Then she saw the message.
YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER FIXED HIS TIE.
Paige froze.
Another message arrived.
NOW HE TRUSTS YOU. THAT MAKES YOU THE MOST DANGEROUS PERSON IN THE ROOM.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
Before she could respond, another message appeared.
A photo.
Paige opened it.
Her heart dropped.
It was taken inside her apartment.
From the hallway.
A picture of her front door.
Taken moments earlier.
Then one final message appeared.
ASK ARTHUR WHY YOUR MOTHER REALLY KNEW PATRICK DOYLE.
Paige stood immediately.
She grabbed her bag.
She didn't know who was watching her.
She didn't know why her mother was connected to Arthur's past.
But she knew one thing.
Someone wanted her afraid.
And Paige Bennett had never been good at running away.
She reached the elevator.
The doors opened.
Nobody was inside.
She stepped forward.
Then her phone rang.
Not a message.
A call.
The name on the screen made her stop.
Because it was the last person she expected.
Margaret Bennett.
Her mother.
Who had not been able to make a clear phone call in months.
Paige answered.
"Mom?"
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a weak voice whispered:
"Paige..."
Her heart tightened.
"Mom, where are you?"
Another pause.
Then her mother said something that made Paige's blood run cold.
"Don't trust Arthur Gallagher."
The elevator lights flickered.
May you like
And before Paige could answer, her mother whispered one final sentence.
"He was the reason Patrick had to hide my daughter..."
