The Betrayal at Hawthorne Global
Chapter 09 - The Betrayal at Hawthorne Global
At 7:12 a.m., Alexander reached Hawthorne Global’s headquarters with Detective Cole and a cybercrime team. The building’s access system rejected his credentials. Jonathan had taken control of the company.
Inside, employees received an emergency message claiming Alexander was mentally unstable and under investigation for attacking Vanessa. The board scheduled a vote to remove him as chief executive.
Jonathan appeared on the lobby screens from an undisclosed location. Calm and immaculate, he told Alexander that corporations survived by cutting away weakness.
“You inherited power,” he said. “I built it.”
The cybercrime team traced the transfer through three foreign banks, but each delay triggered another automated route. They needed the original encryption key stored in Eleanor’s private office on the forty-second floor.
Alexander and Clara used an old service elevator that operated independently from the main system. When they reached the office, they found board chairman Richard Sloan waiting with two security guards.
Sloan admitted he had helped Jonathan falsify records for years. In return, Jonathan promised him control of the company after Alexander was removed.
Clara secretly activated Vanessa’s concealed microphone, which Detective Cole had returned after the rescue. Sloan’s confession transmitted directly to police below.
When the guards realized they had been used, they stepped aside.
The encryption key was hidden inside a music box Thomas had given Eleanor. Alexander stopped the transfer with ninety seconds remaining.
But Jonathan had prepared a final move. He released edited footage suggesting Clara poisoned Eleanor and manipulated Lily into accusing Vanessa. Social media exploded. Reporters surrounded the mansion and hospital. Clara received threats from strangers who believed the lie.
Alexander could save the company’s reputation by distancing himself from her.
Instead, he walked into a live press conference with Clara and Lily beside him.
“This family has protected its name at the expense of the truth for too long,” he said. “That ends today.”
He released the authentic security logs, the audio recording, and Jonathan’s messages.
Within minutes, public opinion began to turn.
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Then Eleanor’s doctor called.
She was awake—and ready to identify the person who had tried to silence her.
