Chapter 219: Chapter 5: The doctor’s diagnosis
Monts after Killian left, Steve stepped into the office. As soon as the door shut, the vertical blinds closed automatically, and the act Steve and Nathaniel were putting up stopped.
Nathaniel went back to his chair behind the desk while Steve stood before it after bowing at him. The cold and calculating aura Nathaniel normally had went back, as if the remnants of his light chuckle were just a dream.
"Any new developnts?" Nathaniel asked, his voice low but firm.
Steve straightened, taking a deep breath. "Nothing substantial yet, sir, but there are too many inconsistencies in the financial reports. It’s too clean, too perfect. If soone is embezzling funds, they’ve covered their tracks well."
Nathaniel leaned against the desk, arms crossed over his chest, his sharp eyes scrutinizing Steve. "So, it ans the embezzlent is deeper than we thought."
Steve nodded. "Yes. I’ve been reviewing the expense reports and budget allocations for the last quarter. On the surface, everything looks in order, but the numbers don’t add up when compared to the actual project outcos. There’s a significant discrepancy between the reported earnings and what’s being funneled into external accounts."
"How about the Payroll Division?" Nathaniel asked. He was the one in charge of monitoring the Payroll Division since a large sum of money was entering the division twice every month, and it would be the easiest target to steal money from.
However, with all the employees in every company he had to check into, Nathaniel couldn’t handle it alone.
Overseeing the construction of the Horizon company building was just an excuse. He could have designated soone to watch over it, but upon receiving reports of possible corruption ongoing in many subsidiaries, he had to co personally and take over.
Steve shook his head. "So far, I didn’t find anything suspicious, sir."
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes, processing the information. "We need to find out who’s behind this. The board has its suspicions, but without solid evidence, we’re stuck. For now, monitor the employees who have authority over signing and releasing cheques. Discreetly."
"Yes, sir," Steve answered.
The situation was delicate. HZ Finance Solutions was a reputable company, but its recent success had drawn attention, both from within and outside.
If embezzlent was indeed happening, it could cripple the company’s reputation, not to ntion the loss of millions of dollars. The last thing the company needed was a scandal.
Steve continued, "The pattern I’m seeing suggests the funds are being diverted through multiple small transactions across various departnts. It’s all very subtle, but over ti, the amounts add up. It’s likely soone in middle managent with access to departntal accounts is behind this. I need to keep digging."
The chairman nodded, his expression hardening. "You do that. And once you have sothing concrete, we’ll make our move. I want whoever’s responsible for this to face the consequences."
The conversation ended when Steve received a call from the chairman’s office on the top floor. He bowed to the real chairman before leaving.
As Steve left the room, Nathaniel’s thoughts lingered on Killian longer than he wanted them to. Again. He couldn’t even count how many tis he thought of the male oga ever since he passed by the Payroll Division and saw his focused attention on his monitor.
He just couldn’t understand.
There was sothing about the oga that tugged at the corners of his mind, refusing to be ignored. Sothing he couldn’t yet fathom.
Later that evening, Killian found himself sitting in the waiting room of the hospital’s Gender Research and Developnt departnt.
His head was spinning from the day’s events, the strange eting with the director, the conversation that had left him feeling off-kilter, and the peculiar way his body had reacted in the man’s presence.
"Mr. Killian Arden?" The kind and clear voice of the nurse echoed in the hallway where waiting benches were placed on both sides.
Killian raised his hand as he stood, and so the nurse guided him inside the consultation room.
Dr. Esther Park, a well-known specialist in gender-related research, greeted him with a warm smile. She gestured for him to take a seat.
"So, Mr. Arden, what brings you in today?" she asked, her voice calm and reassuring.
Killian hesitated for a mont before he explained the events of the past week.
He recounted the sudden onset of his heat, how it was unexpected and out of sync with his usual cycle, and the strange reactions he had around the director. The more he talked, the more the words flowed out of him, as if he had been holding them back for too long.
Dr. Park listened intently, nodding occasionally as she took notes. "You ntioned that you were in contact with a particular alpha around the ti your heat started unexpectedly. Can you describe that encounter again?"
Killian swallowed hard, feeling a bit embarrassed, but he continued. "It was brief. I ran into him in the elevator. He stopped the doors from closing, and... I don’t know how to explain it, but ever since then, I’ve felt this strange pull toward him. Like, I can’t stop thinking about him. And during our eting today, it was... intense. I can’t explain it."
"Have you ever thought that you were simply attracted to him, Mr. Arden?" the female doctor asked.
Killian shook his head. "It was the first ti I t him, and I didn’t even see his face that ti. We just brushed shoulders and I suddenly went into a heat that was much more intense than my...previous heats. And after eting him again...I don’t think attraction is what I feel whenever I look at him... it’s more like...I’m always on edge, conscious of myself and his presence, and...there’s this unsettling feeling inside ..."
Dr. Park nodded. "Unsettling feeling? Sothing like?"
Killian bit his lower lip. "Like...sothing making
weak, muddled, different, around him. Like...a part of ...is wanting him to bury his pangs on my..." he stopped with a gasp. His eyes looked at the doctor with shock.
Did I just say I wanted him to...to...to b...bite ?! Killian grabbed his head. He couldn’t believe himself thinking like that! And what’s with the doctor? Is she a gender specialist or a psychiatrist specializing in hypnosis?!
Seeing the inner turmoil in her patient’s eyes, Dr. Park’s expression beca thoughtful, her fingers tapping lightly on her tablet. "That’s interesting. There are two possibilities that co to mind, Mr. Arden."
Killian leaned forward, his heart racing. "What are they?"
"The first possibility," Dr. Park began, "is that the alpha you encountered may have been deliberately targeting you with his pheromones. In so cases, alphas can manipulate their pheromone levels to affect ogas around them. It’s a common tactic among unscrupulous individuals trying to assert dominance or influence over an oga. But you’re saying you two haven’t t before, right? That’s from your perspective. What if this alpha knew you and had been harboring feelings toward you? That could be possible."
Killian’s eyes widened in shock. ’Is that possible? But the man was said to be from England, and just accompanied the chairman here!’ Killian exclaid inwardly. He had never set foot outside the country yet, so how could the man know him?
He’s not one to post pictures on his social accounts too, and they are all in private. So, how exactly?
Killian composed himself. "But... why would he do that? We barely know each other."
"That’s just a possibility, Mr. Arden," Dr. Park stressed, sensing the panic in her patient. She raised a hand, her tone calm. "It’s just one possibility. He may not have done it consciously, either. So alphas give off stronger pheromones naturally, especially around ogas they’re attracted to."
Killian felt a strange mix of emotions.
The thought of the director deliberately influencing him was unsettling, but at the sa ti, it didn’t feel right. There was sothing about his behavior that didn’t align with that theory.
"What’s the second possibility?" Killian asked, his voice quieter now.
Dr. Park hesitated for a mont before answering. "The second possibility is more... profound. It’s rare, but not unheard of. It’s possible that the alpha you encountered is your fated mate."
Killian’s heart skipped a beat. "...fated mate? Are they even...real?"
Dr. Park smiled softly. She wasn’t surprised that people found the concept unreal. "They are, Mr. Arden. When an oga and an alpha are fated mates, their bodies and pheromones naturally react to each other in ways that go beyond the usual dynamics of alpha and oga interactions. It’s almost like a biological bond that’s hardwired into both of you. Your heat could have been triggered by the proximity to your fated mate, even if you weren’t consciously aware of it.
"It goes with many surreal theories that were only heard and recorded from individuals who found their fated mates. So said that the connection was so evident that a re eting of the eyes sent them spiraling into their heats and ruts. Others stated that once you et them, they will beco a constant image in your mind, a permanent resident in your heart, or a drug you’d get addicted to."
Killian’s mind raced, trying to process the information.
A fated mate? The idea was almost too fantastical to believe. He had heard of such bonds before, but they were rare, almost myth-like in their occurrence.
"But if that’s true," Killian said slowly, "...then what am I supposed to do?"
Dr. Park’s expression softened. "If he is your fated mate, then you’ll need to decide how to approach this. So ogas and alphas embrace the bond, while others take their ti to understand what it ans for them. The important thing is that you listen to your instincts. Your body is trying to tell you sothing, and it’s up to you to figure out what that is."
Killian left the hospital in a daze. His mind was running a marathon. A marathon that doesn’t seem to end. He recalled what Emily told him before. How ironic that it was now happening to him.
Killian wanted to convince himself that the first option was most likely the case, but after the doctor listed those things about fated mates, his mind stopped working, and all it did was check them into the things Killian experienced.
What is he supposed to do now...with that knowledge?
Killian doesn’t know.
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