The Silver Crescent Alpha Prince

Jenny's mind stuttered. On an impulse she said that she was instructed. "I— I mean—" She darted her image around and was extremely fidgety. "The money has— has gone to relevant projects." 

Dawn got up from her place and walked past the table to Jenny. She bent over the file and pointed to a red circle around a figure. "This amount has been siphoned off the Company to a NGO called 'Endangered Creatures' in the name of 'Go Green' project. And every time you are the one who signs the amount. It's like when you need the money and you withdraw it from our Company and deposit it in Joshua Barker's account." She tapped her finger on the name. "So tell me about the relevancy of this project and also give me the address of this NGO." 

Jenny's heartbeat raced. How the hell did she trace Endangered Creatures NGO? She had built such a complex trail. "I will go to the office and find it for you Ma'am," she said as her hands became sweaty. 

"Oh no! You don't have to go anywhere. I have access to every data on my computer. Tell me where to find it," said Dawn as she yanked the woman towards her computer by holding her upper arm. 

Dawn pushed Jenny to sit in her chair and then switched on her computer. "Now tell me," she said nonchalantly. "Because if you won't reveal, then I am going to have to call the police and get you arrested for hiding important data for your benefit from the Managing Director of the Company." 

Jenny started shaking. In the next few minutes, Jenny browsed the internal website of the Company and gave her the exact details. 

Dawn smiled. "Please print it for me," she said and then called David McDow. "We need to leave for the Mayor's office." 

Jenny printed the sheet and gave it to her. Her face was white as chalk. She had been able to embezzle the funds so easily and ever since Dawn had come, she had stopped with her activities. She thought that the young girl would never be able to find out because of the complex channel she had created. But Dawn had not only been able to uncover the tracks, she had been able to pin her so easily. 

"You may leave," said Dawn in a voice so cold that Jenny became extremely restless. 

Hurriedly she walked out of the office only to make calls to the relevant people. She pressed the button for the elevator. Her call was picked up in the first ring. 

"What is it?" an irritated male voice came from the other end. 

"Sir! There's been—" The bell dinged and the elevator opened. She looked up and found two burly men staring at her from behind David.

David stepped out while Dawn's security personnel remained in. 

She thought they were stepping out too, but they waited for her to step in. "No!" she shrieked, realizing the situation. One of them pulled her inside while the other one snatched her phone and disconnected it. The elevator's door closed. 

After collecting relevant files, Dawn and David were on their way to the Mayor's office. 

Incidentally, the Mayor belonged to the same party as Gayle and he was one of the few who were seeking his removal. This was the perfect opportunity for the Mayor to churn up a scandal, which would embroil Dawn. While she would bear the brunt of the situation, the Mayor would pass the motion in favor of Gayle's removal from the party making his daughter-in-law the scapegoat. 

Dawn was ushered to his office immediately. David was asked to wait on the outside, but upon Dawn's insistence, he was allowed to go in. It wasn't a surprise for Dawn when she noticed that apart from the Mayor, Joshua Barker was sitting and right next to him was Doug Langston. 

While Joshua and Doug ignored her totally, the Mayor got up and shook his hands with her and David. There was a huge smile on his face. "Hello Mrs. Silver!" he said eagerly. 

"Hello Sir," she replied gracefully without a trace of tension. 

The Mayor came to the point immediately. "What is this I am hearing? These two gentlemen have serious complaints against you. Why have you stopped funding the 'Go Green' project?" 

Dawn opened the manila folder that she had in hand. She handed him a document and said, "Sir, the 'Go Green' project is being funded by us but the money that is going to it isn't being used for the project. It looks as if the money is going to some fake place. My people traced the flow of the money and we came to know that it is actually funding a new irrelevant project called Endangered Creatures. What have we got to do with that project?" 

"What nonsense!" Joshua Barker barked. "We are using all the money for developing the eco-sensitive area." 

Dawn ignored him. She continued, "Besides the Starfish Refinery is closed. We are no longer its owners, so why should we fund it? It should be funded by the new owners." She shrugged. "But the fact remains that we would have funded if it was needed." Now she turned to Joshua with a frown. 

Doug Langston's eyes became wide as to how she came to know. The Mayor didn't know what to say. 

"So tell me Mr. Barker, what endangered creature are you protecting or hunting?" she asked, curious to know. He was so going down. "And that too under the name of developing the eco-sensitive area." She threw in the photos she had taken of the signboards. "I found these last evening." She crossed her hands across her chest and said, "So what is it that you are doing with the funds? Developing the eco-zone or trying to find out about endangered species?" 

Joshua's mouth went dry. He stared at Dawn as his mind wobbled. 

Seeing that he wasn't answering, she added, "You started taking funds to develop the place. From what I saw yesterday evening, the place was lush green. It was as if it was already developed a long time back, then why were the funds given to you?" She looked at Doug for an explanation. 

Doug coughed uneasily. 

"So basically from what I understand, in the last few months, the money isn't going to the 'Go Green' project." 

"How are you so sure about the money trail?" asked the Mayor. Even he didn't know what Joshua was up to. 

This time David took out a folder from his leather bag and handed it to him. "We came to know about it today morning." 

The Mayor looked at the papers. His face became grim and he asked Joshua, "What is this nonsense?" 

"This isn't nonsense Sir!" Joshua defended. "For a few months, we noticed that the animals that had populated the eco-zone were disappearing in the fog on the north. So we decided to understand the phenomenon. We have been sending more animals to study the pattern. The animals don't return. I suspect that beyond the fog there are endangered species. We have built two rooms over there and I can also show you this phenomenon." His eyes were wide and his lanky frame was shaking with anticipation. "Would you like to see it?" 

"Rooms?" Dawn raised her eyebrow.

"You imbecile!" The Mayor yelled.