Chapter 7

Night passed into morning, and Victoria was still unable to sleep, so she remained strained and anxious. The appearance of the stranger outside Carrington Tower made her tense, and she felt this was as close as they were to something decisive. She realized that she had to maintain her temper over the day because the engagements for the day included several meetings as well as public appearances.

When Victoria got to the office, Chloe was already there, standing, looking stressed and pale.

“Morning,” Victoria replied, forcing herself to smile because she was feeling slightly uncomfortable.

To this, Chloe only looked at him and gave him a curt nod. “Son, we have to compare notes. I got an anonymous tip of having an anonymous letter stating Davenport is planning to do something big, yet they lack details thus cannot be acted upon; however, could it be related to these threats?”

Being in the presence of the man she had secretly admired for years, Victoria blanched visibly. “What kind of something?”

“I am not quite sure yet,” Chloe replied. “But the tip pointed to the fact that Davenport now has a plan that for sure will affect Carrington Enterprises, and perhaps it would be wise to dig further into it.”

Victoria’s mind raced. If Davenport was planning a major move, it would be the thing that would give a clue of his motive and the thing that would stop him. “We have to learn what he’s planning; yes, quickly."”

Chloe nodded in agreement. “I will keep on searching for something. When doing so, do not forget the adage, Beware of the company you keep. While Davenport is gearing up for a move, others are doing so too.”

Victoria nodded and went off to her first of meetings for the day, intent on not arousing suspicion. Nevertheless, the feeling of imminent threat was still somewhere at the back of her mind, forming a constantly looming cloud.

It was a day full of hard work for the couple on different official appointments, during which Victoria and Alexander were playing the role of happy newlyweds. They appeared to be constantly attempting to monitor their every action; nonetheless, Victoria could not identify whether the board was genuinely concerned with them.

Alexander took advantage of the fact that they were between patients, and he, therefore, led her to a less busy corner of the building. “What is new?” he whispered in a tense manner.

Victoria explained to him the call Chloe had received the anonymous threat. “At the moment we have few pieces of information, but it looks like Davenport has something brewing that could impact the company in some way, and Chloe is handling it, but its best we keep our guards up.”

Alexander’s jaw tightened. “Well, we will have to expect the unexpected. I have my people working on Davenport too, but they cannot decide what to do next.”

Speaking to each other, Victoria saw a silhouette move out of the corner of her eye. Standing before me was Marcus Langston, frowning.

“Hey!” Marcus crossed and interrupted them, “I’m so sorry if I’m embarrassing you, but you are Anton, right?” I said we have to discuss.

“Of course,” Alexander replied. “Victoria, if you’ll excuse us.”

Victoria looked at Marcus and Alexander as both men stepped aside to have a word away from the others. She eventually could not listen to what they were saying, but she could easily notice that Alexander’s face changed from being worried to being panicked. Marcus also laid the same very serious look.

Sensing this, Victoria stayed around to try and overhear whatever the two were saying to each other. Pretty soon Marcus and Alexander were finished talking, and Alexander was wearing a look of sheer determination.

“Victoria,” Alexander called, and came back to her side. Marcus just told me about the insecurity, and therefore, let be very careful about this.

Victoria’s pulse quickened. “What kind of breach?”

From Marcus’s sources, there is information pointing towards the fact that one of our is possibly involved with Davenport,” Alexander said. “As it stands now, the problem is not fully clear, though it is a major issue.”

Victoria’s mind raced. If we were to imagine that there was an insider in the company of Davenport, then this will pose a lot of challenges in the process of toppling his empire. “We have to discern who it is from as soon as possible.”

Alexander nodded. “Got it. However, we also can’t afford to stay away from televised engagements and personal meetings we’ve planned for the day; we mustn’t raise suspicions.

On returning to the house for their day’s occupation, Victoria felt as if the walls were pressing closer and closer to her. This is one of the worst things that happen in a relationship; for example, every word that was being spoken contained deep meaning. The buildup of pressure is as hard to bear as the tension that is created before the climax.

Late in the day, after performing various activities for the benefit of the public, Victoria got back to her apartment, tired but determined. She had to relax and free her thoughts, and she could not shake the bad feeling.

It has been her habit to spend most of the evening in her living room when suddenly she heard a knock on the door. The door was opened by Victoria, who gave a heart skip a beat, only to find Chloe standing on the other end with a pale and anxious look.

“Chloe?” Victoria asked, surprised. “What’s wrong?”

She entered and looked around as if making sure nobody was around before focusing her attention on him. One day he comes to me and says, “Guess what I have for you? It’s about Davenport.”

Therefore, when Victoria locked the door after Chloe in the house, in those moments Victoria was feeling Washer’s pulse in her chest. “What did you find?”

Chloe reached her bag and took a folder, then passed it over to Victoria. “There are documents and emails in there that point out that Davenport has been scheming with a number of influential investors to bring down Carrington Enterprises in what amounts to a corporate takeover.”

Victoria was thumbing through the papers; her eyes opened wide in realization of the scheming that Davenport had put into play. “This is big. If this gets out, it could be catastrophic.”

Chloe nodded. Faith: “We have to take prompt action today. If he (Davenport) is planning a takeover, we have to unmask him before he actually begins implementation of his evil plan.”

Victoria began to think as she tried to make sense of what she just got to know. They had no other option but to act fast and counter the strategies that Davenport had for Carrington Enterprises. But with an insider possibly working with Davenport, they had to be wise on their subsequent actions to take.

Since Victoria and Chloe were deep in strategizing, Victoria’s phone rang with a new message arriving. A picture of Victoria and Alexander was displayed on the screen in a wide angle, captioned: A picture of Victoria and Alexander was displayed on the screen in a wide-angle caption.

You are not alone on this; someone just told me that you are plotting against me.

Victoria’s blood ran cold. The message served as a grim wake-up call that they aren’t the only ones fighting this battle and that their adversaries are capable of being one step ahead.