They Thought I Was A Fool, I Was Their Only Chance Chapter 09

They Thought I Was A Fool, I Was Their Only Chance Chapter 09

The next day, Sinclair Holdings exploded with rumors.

The nameplate on the Director of Legal Affairs‘ office was replaced with three words: Sloane

Sinclair.

The entire company was buzzing.

People said the youngest heiress couldn’t string a sentence together.

Overnight, she had become a core executive with real power.

I sat in the wide leather chair and went through the mountains of files covering the desk.

They held every trade secret and legal weakness Sinclair Holdings had accumulated over ten years

Blake was clever. The mess he left behind was much bigger than yesterday’s acquisition agreement

Knock, knock, knock.

The office door opened, and Martin Cole, Deputy Director of Legal Affairs, stepped inside.

He was in his thirties and had been handpicked and promoted by Blake Mercer.

Now he wore barely concealed contempt and carried a file in his hand.

“Miss Sinclair, this is the land–dispute file for the Westgate development.”

“The other side is suing us for breach of contract and demanding half a billion dollars in damages.”

“Blake was handling it before he was arrested. Now that you’re taking over, want me to read the whole thing to you?”

He emphasized read the whole thing.

He was openly mocking the idea that I could understand a legal filing.

I didn’t look up. I kept turning pages.

“Martin, how many years did you work for Blake Mercer?”

Martin blinked, clearly not expecting the question.

“Five.”

“Five years.”

I finally closed the file and looked at him.

“And in five years, you never learned how to cover your tracks?”

Martin’s expression changed.

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

I tossed a financial report I had prepared the night before onto his desk.

“You drafted the original contract for the Westgate development.”

“You deliberately left an ambiguity in the default clause so the other side could exploit it.”

“Afterward, their finance department deposited a so–called consulting fee into your wife’s offshore/ account every month.”

I leaned back and watched him without warmth.

“The total is close to twenty million dollars.”

“Martin, is that enough to keep you in federal prison for ten years?”

Cold sweat broke across Martin’s face.

His legs went weak. He could barely stay standing.

He had heard only fragments of what happened in the conference room and assumed Richard Sinclair had finally shown his teeth.

He had never taken the youngest heiress seriously.

Now he finally understood the fear Blake had felt.

“Ms. Sinclair… I… Blake forced me!”

Martin switched sides immediately and started pointing fingers.

“He told me to do it. If I refused, he would fire me!”

I gave a cold laugh.

“Fine.”

“If he forced you, then give me every person Blake had working inside Legal Affairs.”

“Help us build the case, and I might consider keeping you out of prison.”

For the next hour, Martin spilled everything.

He handed over every person in Legal Affairs who had betrayed the company.

I took the list and passed it to the head of security outside.

“Suspend everyone on this list immediately. Lock their computers and deactivate their access Badges. Prepare the files for the FBI.”

Legal Affairs was hit by a brutal internal purge.

By noon, a third of the department was gone.

The veterans who remained no longer looked at me with contempt. Only deep fear remained.

One public example was always enough to keep the rest in line.

That afternoon, Claire knocked and came into my office.

She carried a glass of warm milk and set it carefully on my desk.

“Sloane, you must be tired. Drink this and take a break.”

She watched me handle the files with practiced ease, disbelief filling her eyes.

“You… you really taught yourself all of this?”

I took a sip of the milk.

It was still warm.

“What else would it be? Did a ghost teach me?”

I raised an eyebrow.

Claire lowered her head, her face flushing.

“I’m sorry. I was arrogant.”

“I thought having two PhDs made me impressive, but I couldn’t even see the most obvious truth.”

She sat across from me and became very serious.

“Sloane, whatever you decide from now on, I’ll support you. No questions asked.”

I looked at her.

The Sinclairs were arrogant, but when they admitted they were wrong, they did it properly.

“Claire, your lab is working on biopharmaceutical research, right?”

I changed the subject without warning.

Claire blinked, then nodded.

“Yes. But we’re short on funding, and I’ve never had the nerve to ask Dad.”

I opened the drawer and pushed the equity certificate for Grant Calloway’s clean–energy company

across the desk.

“Sell it. Put every dollar into your lab.”

“Sinclair Holdings can’t survive on real estate and traditional finance alone. Technology is the

future.”