Chapter 5 - The File Her Father Hid
Elena spent the afternoon inside the private archive beneath Voss Tower.
Only three people had access.
Elena.
Jonathan.
And Elias Grant.
Rows of fireproof cabinets contained decades of contracts.
Her father had believed digital records could disappear too easily.
“Paper survives arrogance,” he used to say.
Elena had laughed at him when she was younger.
She wasn’t laughing now.
Jonathan opened a cabinet marked 2001–2004.
“What are we looking for?”
“Anything involving Elias.”
“That’s half the archive.”
“Then we start with half.”
Hours passed.
Acquisitions.
Loans.
Board minutes.
Partnership agreements.
Nothing.
Then Elena found an envelope tucked inside a file with no label.
Her father’s handwriting was on the front.
FOR ELENA ONLY.
She stopped.
Jonathan saw her expression.
“What is it?”
“I’ve never seen this.”
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
Elena,
If you are reading this because control of Voss Global has been challenged, then something I feared has happened.
Trust no one simply because they stood beside me.
Especially someone who believes loyalty should be rewarded with ownership.
Elena’s pulse slowed.
Jonathan moved closer.
She continued reading.
There were references to an agreement called the Founders Covenant.
A structure created during the company’s early years.
Her father wrote that the Covenant could transfer temporary voting power under specific circumstances.
But the copy in the archive was missing.
“Do you know what this is?” Elena asked.
Jonathan shook his head.
“No.”
She read the final lines.
Elias knows where the original is.
If he tells you it was destroyed, he is lying.
Elena lowered the letter.
Neither of them spoke.
A sound came from the doorway.
Both turned.
Elias stood there.
He looked at the letter in Elena’s hand.
Then at the open cabinet.
“You weren’t supposed to find that yet.”
Jonathan stepped forward.
“You have no authority to be down here without—”
“I have had authority in this building longer than you have had a career.”
Elena raised a hand.
Jonathan stopped.
She faced Elias.
“Where is the Founders Covenant?”
Elias smiled sadly.
“Your father always did enjoy dramatic letters.”
“Where is it?”
“Safe.”
“From whom?”
May you like
Elias’s smile disappeared.
“From you.”
