Chapter 14

CHAD MALCOLM

Chad Malcolm needed to find his wife.

He had been relaxing in their joint office, enjoying a to-go container of an omelet, toast, and bacon that his chef had prepared as an easy breakfast, and Waverwell News had been playing on his computer monitor.

It was supposed to be a relaxing morning. A slower morning. A morning where he took a bit of time for himself to reset and where he could ease into his day. A morning of rest after so many countless hours of trying to do damage control and begin formulating a plan as to how he could begin to restore the name of Leviathan Inc. after the whistleblower's horrendous claims.

Taking a break didn't sit well with him, but he needed just a little time to himself so he could work at full capacity and throw himself entirely into rebuilding the name of Leviathan Inc. so it could once more have the same trust and prestige it once held.

Leviathan Inc. would return as the history-making company it once was.

Chad would make sure of it.

He had built Leviathan Inc. from nothing once. He could build it again from something.

He would show people that Arkreon was never the cause of the disease.

He had seen the documentation of the testing Arkreon had gone through.

But right now he needed to find Darcy. He needed to find his wife.

xxxx

Darcy Malcolm was in Malibu Hide's office.

It had hardly taken more than a few minutes to walk through the hallways of the Corville headquarters. The disease had nearly halved the already far fewer number of people working in the building. After the whistleblower's claims, many had left, and the disease had only dropped the employee count working in-person. Many were doing their work from home, following the recommendations from the Corville Medical Center and other top research groups.

"Oh, thank goodness. I didn't know where you were, honey," Chad breathed as he walked through the doorway.

Darcy turned around. "Hello, sweetheart. How are you doing?"

"I am doing well. I was looking for you."

Malibu stood up and began gathering her stuff when Chad looked at her. "Do you need the room?"

"Please," Chad replied.

"I will be back later." She ducked her head in a goodbye, tucking her water bottle beneath her arm and looping her keyring around a finger as she pulled together a stack of papers she needed to go through. "You can have the room for as long as you need."

"See you later, Malibu." Darcy wiggled her manicured fingers in farewell before turning her attention to Chad.

She stood up from her chair, turning to face her husband. It was clear her assistants had spent a long while in the morning helping her get ready. With eyeshadow and mascara applied in perfection, hair curling around her face in a look that was both innocent and powerful, and ruby necklace hanging around her neck, Darcy could clear her throat, grab the attention of a room, and hold it with ease. It was clear she was a CEO.

"What's going on, Chad?"

"Did you see the interview with the Silverlight Forest Protection Unit?"

Darcy shook her head. "No, I have not. What did they say?"

"One of them —a Charlie Springs— named the disease!"

"Deep breaths. We will figure this out. We will rebuild Leviathan Inc. bigger and greater than ever before."

Chad ran his hands over his face. "I know, I know. But she named it Arkreyitis! After Arkreon. You know that's not true!"

"I know it isn't. I was there. Every bit of documentation shows that Arkreon does not cause any harm to human health."

Darcy reached up, placing a hand on Chad's cheek. She guided him to look down at her, and he complied. Her eyes were soft and calming, reassuring him that everything would be ok.

She echoed the thought. "It will be ok, honey."

But Chad pulled away, taking a few steps back.

Stress was building in him, no outlet, nowhere to go. It was the rising head of the serpent in a teakettle beginning to boil. Soon the serpent would break free, fangs flashing and water spilling in bubbling waves.

"I thought we solved this!" Chad cried. "I thought we made sure this could never happen!"

He ran a hand through his hair and then flexed his fingers.

How was he supposed to save his company when the whistleblower wouldn't take back their claims? Didn't they know how hard he had worked to build this company? Didn't they know how much he cared about his employees? Didn't they know the effects that Leviathan Inc. shutting down would have? Didn't they know that Leviathan Inc. employed nearly one-fifth of Waverwell's population at ninety-thousand employees?

He gave his wife a pleading look, hoping that perhaps she would have some magical solution. Something that he hadn't thought of. She was smart like that. She would have some idea.

"We did, honey," Darcy smoothed, running her hands up his chest and over his shoulders. Rubbing his back, she leaned in close, breath ghosting across his neck. "We made sure Arkreon was safe, remember?"

She pressed a gentle kiss to his pulse point, and Chad wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I remember."

They did, he told himself. They did make sure it was safe. They did all those tests, hired all those scientists. They couldn't rightfully start using a previously unknown energy source without testing it to ensure it was safe.

Who cared if it burned brighter and longer than coal if it would make people sick.

Arkreon was safe.

Darcy had shown him the documentation, all the results of the tests, every reading on what was released when Arkreon was burned, everything, and Chad had poured over it, going through every page in detail again and again until he was certain that there wasn't a threat to human health. That the risks of burning Arkreon were minimized in every aspect.

He relaxed further into Darcy's embrace when she nuzzled into his neck with another soft kiss. She hooked her chin over his shoulder and ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his neck. "Breathe. Everything will be ok."

"Everything will be ok," he echoed, words whispered into Darcy's hair.

He repeated it again, convincing himself of the fact. "Everything will be ok."

"Of course," Darcy cooed, thumb stroking the back of his neck. "Why don't you go take a walk and get yourself a coffee? The Morning Jitters is open just a few blocks down the street. How about that?"

"That's a good idea," Chad replied, mostly speaking to himself. "I should do that. I can't help Leviathan Inc. if my mind is too twisted up."

xxxx

Chad and Darcy were invisible to most of the world. Known by everyone, but simultaneously known by no one. Everyone knew their names, but no one knew who they were.

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Countless photos and videos had been taken of them, but unless they were labeled, no one would know who they were. Are Chad and Darcy those two? was the most common response to a photo with a finger pointing at two people as a guess. Most of the time, the guess was wrong.

And Chad didn't mind it that way. He and Darcy could enjoy a private dinner in a crowded restaurant without anyone giving them a second look. They could choose when to be noticed and when to remain anonymous. Everything was up to them.

Other celebrities didn't have that luxury. Cynthia Corville certainly didn't. But he did, and he was glad. He could choose when he dealt with the mobs of flashing cameras and when he could walk amongst everyone else as if he were one of them, not half of the two CEOs of Leviathan Inc.

He could choose when to show the world who he was and when to duck his head down, flip up the collar of his jacket, and make his way down the sidewalk.

And right now, he was doing that.

Chad was making his way down the street. Normally they would be bustling, but right now they were empty. A walk that could've easily taken close to ten minutes didn't even take five.

But it was enough for his mind to begin to settle and for him to stretch his legs and get his blood moving before he sat down again to continue his work on rebuilding Leviathan Inc., and one step of that was ensuring the energy they were creating and providing to continuing customers was exactly as they promised— high-functioning, efficient, effective, and never ever stopping. As soon as someone flipped the switch, their lights would turn on, their machinery would run, their electricity would never falter.

But he needed an energy boost himself, one that Arkreon could not provide.

The bell on the door to the Morning Jitters cafe jingled as Chad swung open the door. The tables were mostly empty, and he could count on one hand the number of customers in the building. No one glanced up as he got in line, pulling out his wallet to get a few Corvilles to pay for his coffee, and he ordered without issue.

"Thank you," the cashier said as they wrote his name on the cup. They didn't look up at him. "Your drink will be ready shortly at the pickup table. Enjoy your drink, and we hope to see you again soon."

Chad sat down at an empty table near the pickup area.

A television hanging from one of the walls of the Morning Jitters was tuned into Waverwell News. Of course they were discussing the Charlie Springs fiasco from earlier— how she had allegedly named the disease as Arkreyitis.

Without any proof, he thought to himself.

But of course it didn't matter. She had said the words, and that was enough. The details didn't matter, and they were ruining his business.

The whistleblowers claims were enough for him to stumble. Those claims along with Charlie Springs naming the disease after Arkreon were enough to take out his knees. He wasn't on his stomach, but he was on the ground. The serpent wasn't down for the count —it would take far more than that to take out a Leviathan— but it was enough to make his work that much harder.

Waverwell News turned to Jaymes Haverfield.

"As I am sure you have heard," Jaymes started, "there was a witness to Ashley Baok's murder. Many have been wondering who that witness is, and Larson Hotch and the Moonfall Precinct, along with the task force investigating Ashley Baok's murder, have been searching for that person. And the witness has turned himself in."

It was good, Chad figured, that Larson Hotch knew who the witness was.

His name was called, and he got his coffee.

"The witness has been identified as Felix Fisk, an employee at the energy giant, Leviathan Inc."

Chad's back was to the television, and he stiffened, coffee in hand just a few inches above the table where he had picked it up from.

Felix Fisk had seen Ashley Baok's murder?

His skin prickled and a cold sweat broke out across his flesh. His fingers tightened around his coffee, and he tuned Jaymes's voice out as he continued on about the witness and what it might mean for the investigation.

There wasn't anything else he could listen to. There was only one thought his brain could focus on.

Felix Fisk had seen Ashley Baok's murder?

He couldn't believe it.

He had known there was a witness— he had seen the calls made by Larson Hotch for the witness to come speak to them. He knew they were somewhere out there.

But he never would've guessed that the witness was employed by Leviathan Inc. Never would've guessed they worked under the same roof he did. Never would've guessed they were one of the employees he knew by name.

Chad supposed it made more sense now, how Felix had been so distant recently. How he had taken off far more sick days than usual. What Freya Fisk's comment about him drinking too much had really meant.

He probably would've had too much to drink as well if he had seen a murder he wasn't supposed to see. A witness was never supposed to be there.

What had it done to Felix? Chad couldn't even begin to imagine the effects. The nightmares he was probably suffering through.

He hoped that Felix had found a therapist or someone to help him work through that.

Chad took a packet of sugar and poured it into his coffee, then stirred it in.

The walk back from the Morning Jitters took longer than it did to get there. Chad took the long way and meandered through the streets of Corville.

They felt so empty, so barren without the crowds of people piling through and tourists stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to take pictures or to pull out an oversized map and figure out where they were.

Things couldn't get worse, right? Chad thought. They've already hit the bottom. Things can only go up from now, can't they?

He had reached the Waverwell government building.

It stretched tall toward the sky, built with intricate designs crawling up the sides and curling around the windows. The building looked official in every sense of the word. Shadowy forms on the roof scanned the streets below, tucked away nearly out of sight to keep the grounds safe. One-way windows kept those outside from seeing in, and Chad knew they were nearly impossible to break. And the architecture was all but flawless— smooth walls of gold and cream and white, trim of the roof carved with swirls. Waverwell's flag flapped and snapped in the breeze atop the building, green bear rearing up on its hind legs. Corville's flag of a golden crown on a red background flew just below it.

Somewhere within the government building's rooms and halls, Cynthia Corville was working. Perhaps signing some new law into effect, perhaps in some meeting, perhaps talking with other government officials.

Maybe there was something she could do to help him rebuild Leviathan Inc. and prove the whistleblower wrong.

Chad had seen the documentation. There was nothing there that showed Arkreon to be any sort of threat. He had ensured it had passed every safety test known to exist. He never would've used Arkreon as the energy source of Leviathan Inc. if it had shown any red flags.

Turning around, he shook his head. Going to the government wouldn't be a good look. It would seem desperate, childish, and likely confirm to many that Leviathan Inc. was the culprit behind the disease, despite that not being true. The President and other officials would be a last resort and only if laws got broken.

xxxx

"Maybe we need to make another donation to the Corville Medical Center?" Chad asked.

He and his wife were in their joint office.

Darcy leaned back from where she had been hunched over a stack of documents, editing in red pen. "Why would we do that?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "It might help us rebuild Leviathan Inc. quicker. If we send it directly to one of the top people there... I think Danzig Sterling is the lead researcher. Perhaps them. But regardless, if we do that and get someone to acknowledge our donation, it might help Leviathan Inc. look better."

"We already donated, honey," Darcy murmured. "We don't need to donate again. Do you not remember Malibu's plan? We need to be very careful how we shape our image to the outside world. We can think and say anything we'd like within these four walls." She swung her pen in a circle, gesturing to the room. "But anything outside must be thought through in great detail, because all of it can —and will— come back around to our company. The attention we give to this disease needs to be carefully monitored. We have given it some, but we must make sure it is not too much. Remember: this disease is not our fault. We cannot do anything that might make it seem like it is."

Chad nodded. "I know, I know. You're right. I just want to try to make sure we're doing everything we can to ensure we rebuild Leviathan Inc. bigger and better than before."

Darcy hummed in reply. "We will. Don't you worry."

Chad looked out the window. The sun was beginning to set, just starting to brush against the tallest of the buildings in Corville's skyline and set fire to the horizon in a blaze of reds and oranges.

Taking one last drink from his coffee, he finished it off and threw it in the trash can beside his desk. He could feel the buzz of the caffeine coursing through his veins, and it had helped; he had gotten more done in the last few hours than he had previously.

There would be no quick fix for the damage done to Leviathan Inc., no matter how much Chad hoped and prayed, but he had played the long game once when he had first built the foundation for Leviathan Inc. He could play the long game again with repairs.

The serpent would find the whistleblower and come back stronger than ever before.

Darcy finished her work first, and while Chad finished up the last of his, she went down to the lobby to call the chauffeur and have the car prepared for their ride home.

"I'll be down in a few minutes, honey," he said as she packed up her purse and shut off her computer for the night.

"Don't keep me waiting too long." Darcy crossed the room, fingers running up his arm. He wrapped his fingers around hers, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.

"I could never. Not with someone as stunning as you are." Chad tilted his head up when Darcy bent down for a quick kiss.

She offered him a smile that stole the air from his lungs, and he extended his arm to keep their fingers laced together for as long as possible until Darcy stepped out of reach.

Once the door to their joint office closed and his wife was out of sight, Chad turned his attention back to his computer, but he couldn't help the glance he gave at the doorway in hopes that he might get another glimpse of the goddess he was married to.

He went to move his mouse to open his email. Darcy was expecting him down in the lobby soon and he wanted nothing more than to go home and enjoy a relaxing dinner in his wife's company, but CEO meant one last check to ensure that everything had gotten done.

But his cursor didn't move.

He jerked his mouse to the side, and the cursor stayed in the exact same spot.

He tried again with the same results. And then again. And his cursor never moved.

Until it did.

Moving on its own, the cursor trailed lazily across the page, meandering over to the search bar of his computer and opening a document. The cursor scrolled through the fonts, pausing on one and then moving onto another several times before selecting one near the bottom that looked like the words had been sliced into the page with a knife.

Completely frozen, Chad could only stare at his computer screen, hand hovering over his mouse and muscles locked up tight.

Then, letter by letter, two words were slowly typed onto the page, eternal seconds stretching between each flash of the cursor.

Chad's whole body tensed up, and he held his breath.

THEY'RE DIGGING.