Chapter 117 You're Not Safe

I’m feeling uneasy as I let myself into my apartment, filled with an urgency to check the contents of the USB drive. There are answers on this little stick and I need them.

My mind is a jumbled mess as it tries to process what Alice told me. It wasn’t anything particularly new, nothing that I don’t already know. Just more d*mn whispers and rumours, overheard conversations. The sort of things that won’t prove anything.

Instead of helping, her words had only made me feel more annoyed. Frustrated that it’s taken us months to find out this much and yet we still know practically nothing.

I stop on the doorstop, the door wide open as I stare into the apartment. The sight before me is a bit on the bizarre side. Noah and Martin are both sitting in my living room drinking tea.

“Eden!” Noah’s eyes dart to me. “Where have you been?”

I’m surprised to see how worried they book look as I close the door behind me.

“Why are you both here?” I ask, although I’m not particularly displeased at their presence. If anything, it saves me having to call them.

“We’ve been looking for you,” Noah says, his tone is confrontational and definitely a little angry.

“I…” I feel the need to explain myself, but then I stop myself. “Why were you looking for me?”

“You didn’t answer your phone,” Noah tells me. “I was worried.”

There’s something sweet about the look on his face. I love that he was worried but equally it makes me feel guilty. I shouldn’t have let him worry. I should have told him… But then I never expected to be gone so long.

He’s worried for the same reason Alice is, but I don’t have time to think about that. Not right now. Instead, I rush into my bedroom, grabbing my laptop off the side before returning back to the living room.

“What’s going on, Eden?” Martin asks.

“Holly Sinclaire wanted to talk to me.”

“About what?” Noah demands.

“She had something for me,” I say dismissively as I turn on my laptop and put the USB drive into the port before waiting impatiently for its contents to load.

Martin and Noah crowd around me as I settle on the sofa. “What is it?” Martin asks.

“I’m not sure,” I answer. “Memos… Notes… Evidence, maybe.”

I open the first file and its exactly what Holly promised. There on the screen in front of me is a website page for some product that seems remarkably similar to one that I know our company makes. There are handwritten notes all over it.

Opening the next file, it’s the same. Another product. Different notes. Again and again, I open files to find the same thing. There are countless files. This is going to take ages to go through. Too long for one night.

“I want Lewis suspended immediately,” I tell Martin as I make a quick copy of the folder before removing the USB drive and handing it to him. “Let’s get this looked over properly. I want a complete list of stolen products. There’s far more than we expected… We need to remove them from distribution immediately, even the ones we’re not being sued for.”

Martin is nodding his head in agreement.

“We need to find out everything we can about these companies,” I say. “We need to make amends. Settling with all of them is going to cost a fortune, possibly even ruin the company, but more than that, money…”

I pause, unsure how to say what I mean.

“Money won’t fix this…” I try to explain. “I want to help them. Do something for them.”

“Like what?” Both Martin and Noah are looking at me like they think I’ve grown two heads.

“What if…” I hesitate, nervous that they’ll think my idea is stupid. “What if we allow them to use our platform to sell their products. We could spotlight up and coming businesses…”

“Promote the competition?” Martin looks unconvinced.

“It’s not an unreasonable suggestion,” Noah says, leaning back on the sofa. “Businesses have been doing it for years… Department stores for example. And now internet marketplaces. Usually, you’d charge a fee.”

“We’d waver the fee by way of compensation,” I tell him eagerly, grateful that he isn’t just shutting down the idea. “For these companies at least.”

“Time frame?” Martin asks.

“Huh?”

“How long would you waver the fee?”

“Long enough that we fully compensate them for their loss. Perhaps we could arrange it on a case by case basis, determining the time period by how much we’ve made from their stolen product idea…”

“If they were to agree,” Martin says slowly, “it would certainly spread the compensation out over time, potentially saving the company. If all of these companies sue us…”

I know what he’s going to say. It’s one thing to handle a handful of lawsuits, but another thing entirely to be sued by nearly a hundred companies. We wouldn’t survive that, even if we do try.

It’s a relief that we can at least prove that Lewis was the one to cause all this. If anyone is going to go to prison or something, at least it won’t be me or grandma.

“I’ll get straight on it,” Martin says. “If there’s anything else you need, just give me a call.”

I thank him before walking him to the door. His hand squeezes my shoulder reassuringly, almost fatherly and then he’s leaving and I’m left alone with Noah.

“Hey you,” I say as I turn back to look at him.

I feel like I haven’t seen him in days when it’s only really been the one. One very long day.

“So, you were so worried you called Martin?” I tease him, walking towards him.

“Yeah…” He looks up at me from where he’s sitting on the sofa, giving me a shy look. “I really don’t like what’s going on.”

“Me neither,” I tell him. “Did you tell Martin?”

“Tell him?”

“About my parents?”

“No. I considered it… But I thought I better not. I told him some crap about the company expenses instead.”

“You lied?” I ask, coming to sit beside him.

“Not really… Just didn’t tell him everything. I told him that I think you won’t be safe until we find out who is stealing from the company.”

Nodding my head, I smile at him before leaning closer so I can kiss him softly. I focus all my attention on that kiss, trying to distract myself from Alice’s words.

‘You’re not safe.’