Chapter 190: Roadblock

Natalia strode into the building, trying to match the confident gait of the skin she was wearing.

This was another advantage of her staying at the Mattens. She knew everything about their personalities, their tics and their movements.

She nodded at the security official, putting her hands in her pockets. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Mr. Matten." A man who was also coming in for work, came forward respectfully. "We received a few documents pointing to a transfer of assets, is it true?"

Natalia nodded decisively at the man who she now recognized as the Chief Financial Officer of Ascendant Capital. "Yes. Go through it and send it to my desk with immediate effect."

The man nodded and turned away to carry out her orders.

She smiled to herself.

It had been trivially easy to shapeshift into Ezra, using her chameleon. The Mattens would not dare appear in public now that Griffin was after them. This meant that Ascendant Capital was open for her to make the necessary changes they needed.

She stepped into the elevator, marveling at the change in height and perspective. How did men go around everyday seeing over the head of everyone else?

She heaved a huge sigh of relief. At least for a few hours, she wouldn't have to bear the constant weight on her chest.

The elevator dinged and she walked into the office, the assistant behind the desk stood in surprise. "Mr Matten. I thought you weren't coming in today."

"Change of plans, Ava." Natalia smiled. "There's a few things we have to do today."

"Okay sir." Ava nodded with a smile as Natalia entered the office.

She paused as she caught sight of a familiar painting on one of the walls. She scoffed. She had wondered where the painting had gone. Turns out Griffin had given Matten. What a waste of a gift.

She turned away, walking to the desk. She walked around and sat, admiring it.

It seemed new. She frowned, checking the floor. There were a few subtle marks on the floor showing a frequent change of desks.

Natalia wondered why. Was he hiding something in his desks? Something that needed him to change desks a lot?

It didn't matter because the desk was now open to her. Whatever it is, she'll find it.

She opened the drawers, searching through it. She found memory sticks, putting them on the table before she scored gold.

The partnership plans with TransitLink.

She'd found the important documents detailing the current steps in the plan where Ezra had stopped. It was time to revive the partnership.

She set the document aside and picked up the memory sticks, plugging and checking them one after the other.

Most were useless documents. A few contained ledgers of Ascendant Capitals which she scrutinized until she found something.

She traced the money, until she came to a strange company.

She picked up her phone and placed a call.

"Hello? Yes. Find everything you can about a company for me. Its name is Dark Horse LLC."

She rattled off the address and other necessary details. If this was what she thought it was, it was game over for Ezra Matten.

She went through the remaining memory sticks, discarding them all.

She clutched the important one, placing it in her jacket pocket.

Just then, her phone rang. She picked it up, listening to the voice on the other end.

"Yes? What did you find?"

She listened.

"A paper company?"

She listened some more.

"Perfect."

She ended the call and began to laugh. She'd found it!

Ezra Matten's slush fund.

The place he was keeping all the wealth he'd siphoned off Ascendant Capital for himself.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." She called out.

The assistant, Ava, walked in, carrying a document. "Mr Matten, this is the document from the CFO's office detailing the transferral of assets."

"Perfect." Natalia took the documents and went through them. She nodded. Everything was in order.

By signing the document, she would be transferring a few key assets to the company Griffin had created to partner with Ascendant in his territory.

This would allow them to siphon a bit of Ascendant's assets under the radar, draining Southside bit by bit.

She signed it, handing it back to the assistant. "Make sure the transfer is carried out immediately."

Ava frowned, confused. "Sir?"

"Yes?" Natalia raised a brow. What was the matter?

"We can't proceed without the signatures of the other two co-CEOs." Ava answered.

"The two... co-CEOs?" Natalia asked, a headache building in her head.

"Yes sir. Mrs Olivia and Mrs Genesis." Ava smiled. "As you once said, it's company regulations on all major decisions such as these."

Natalia leaned back in the chair, whispering under her breath. "Ezra, you bastard?"

Why couldn't he just make things easy and die in a ditch somewhere?

"Alright." Natalia nodded, taking a document from her table and handing it to Ava. "These are the documents needed for the resumption of the TransitLink partnership. I want everything up and running by tomorrow."

"Yes sir." Ava accepted the document and left.

Natalia stood from the desk. She needed two other vampires to act as Olivia and Gen.

Her phone dinged and she retrieved it, reading the message. It was a summons from Griffin.

Just in time. She did need a distraction.

**********

X wandered the park, searching for excuses not to go back and report to Griffin.

He'd gone to the location himself and found the well, confirming the authenticity of the information.

He'd tried to retrace Helena's steps, trying to find out how she'd eventually settled on the cathedral in reverse.

It was a fun distraction from the gentle tugging on his soul to go back.

When that stopped being fun, he wandered into the park he was now, trying to count the average number of leaves a branch would have.

He was currently trying to decide if branches were allowed to have sub-branches or if the sub-branches were in fact branches on their own right.

He was humming to himself when she appeared in front of him.

Griffin's second wife.

He immediately went on a knee in deference. "My lady!"

"What are you doing here, X?"

"My lady, the peacekeeper hid something here and I was trying to find it."

"That is not your objective." She stated coldly. "Did you find the well?"

"Yes, my lady." He had no choice but to answer. Griffin's wives were an extension of himself.

"Good." She nodded. "Let's go home."