The Divine Auditor : Settling the Ledger of Souls

Chapter 1 – The Day Everything Was Taken Away

“Mr. Elias Pratama.”

The Chairman of the Board slowly rose from his seat. He closed the black folder resting before the shareholders and looked toward the young man standing at the end of the conference table. 

“Effective immediately, you are officially dismissed from all positions at Arunika Capital.”

Silence swallowed the two hundred square meter boardroom, No one spoke, No one objected. Only the low hum of the air conditioner drifted through the room as the executives deliberately avoided Elias's gaze. He remained standing, Calm. His eyes shifted to the projector screen behind the Chairman. The internal audit report was still displayed. Dozens of transactions worth enormous sums filled the screen.

Transfers to offshore accounts, Fictitious investments, Asset diversions, And at the bottom

Total Loss: IDR 87,450,000,000

Beneath the figure was a single name.

ELIAS PRATAMA

The Chairman let out a slow breath.

“The audit concludes that all of these transactions were authorized using Mr. Elias Pratama's account credentials.”

Several directors nodded as though the matter had already been settled. As though the culprit had already been found.

Elias did not answer immediately, He studied the report for another moment. Then a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“May I ask a question?” The Chairman nodded.

“Go ahead.”

“Where is the digital forensic report?” Silence returned.

Elias continued “Every transaction exceeding five billion rupiah requires biometric authentication.”

“Fingerprint verification.”

“Facial recognition.”

“Registered device validation.”

“If my account was truly used...”

“…where are the biometric records?”

Several board members exchanged uneasy glances, None of them answered.

Elias spoke again.

“Where are the device IP logs?”

“The server records?”

“The security audit trail?”

“Or...”

“…was that report never created in the first place?”

The final question shifted the atmosphere, The Finance Director swallowed hard.

Others quietly looked away, They knew he was right. As Director of Investment, Elias himself had designed the company's security architecture. Transactions of that magnitude could never disappear without leaving digital evidence. A deep voice finally cut through the silence.

“That is enough.”

Elias turned, At the far end of the table sat a man in his early sixties, dressed in an impeccably tailored navy blue suit.

Rafael Pratama.

His late father's younger brother, The President Commissioner of Arunika Capital 

“Elias.”His voice remained composed.

“We all understand what you're going through.”

“But the evidence is sufficient.”

Elias never looked away “Is it?”

“Or is it only sufficient to convict me?”

For the first time that day, Rafael's expression changed, Only briefly. But it was enough, He wasn't surprised by the accusation, He was irritated that Elias had refused to surrender.

“Uncle.” Elias's voice became quieter.

“Three weeks ago, the company's servers were operating normally.”

“Two weeks ago, I lost administrator access.”

“One week ago, every login record was altered.”

“I reported it.”

“And you told me the IT department was performing a system update.”

He paused before sweeping his gaze across the room.

“And now...”

“…all these illegal transactions suddenly appear under my account.”

“What a remarkable coincidence.”

No one laughed, Only the sound of a pen falling onto the floor echoed through the room, Elias slowly shook his head.

“I know this company has been in trouble.”

“I also know someone wants to seize everything my father built.”

“But I never imagined...”

“…that person would be my own family.”

Bang!, 

Rafael slammed his palm against the conference table.

“Enough, Elias!”

“Stop making accusations without evidence!”

Elias stared back without fear “Evidence?”

“Am I the only one expected to provide it?”

“In that case...”

“…let me see yours.”

Silence filled the boardroom once again, Five seconds, Ten, No one moved. At that moment, Elias understood something far more painful than the accusation itself.

The decision had already been made long before he entered the room. This was never a hearing to uncover the truth, It was a stage. And he had already been cast as the man who would carry the company's sins.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Three knocks came from the conference room door, A secretary entered with a tense expression. She approached the Chairman, bowed slightly, and whispered into his ear, But the room was so quiet that everyone could hear.

“Sir... the media has filled the lobby.”

Elias raised an eyebrow, “ The media?”

The Chairman gave a brief nod.

“Let them wait.”

“Yes, Sir.” The secretary turned to leave.

Before she could reach the door, Rafael called out.“What about the police?”

“They're on their way.”

Elias slowly clenched his fists, So even the police had already been summoned. This meeting had never been about identifying the real criminal. Everything had been arranged, A formality before handing him over to the public. The Chairman reopened the black folder before him.

“Mr. Elias.”

“To preserve investor confidence, the Board has reached a unanimous decision.”

“Effective immediately, you are removed from your position as Director of Investment.”

“All company access privileges are revoked.”

“Your voting rights as a shareholder are suspended.”

“And until the investigation is complete, all of your personal assets will remain under supervision.”

The last sentence drew another faint smile from Elias “My voting rights too?”

The Chairman nodded.

“Yes.”

“How interesting.” Elias reached into his suit pocket and placed a black access card with gold lettering onto the table.

DIRECTOR

He looked at it for several long seconds.Five years earlier, His father had placed that very card into his hand.

“This company isn't an inheritance, Elias.”

“It's a responsibility.”

Without hesitation, Elias laid down his executive parking card, The archive room keys, Then a small silver flash drive. Rafael's eyes immediately settled on it. Only for an instant, But Elias noticed. The older man was checking something.

“Why?” Elias picked up the flash drive again. “Do you recognize it, Uncle?”

Rafael quickly looked away.

“No.”

“I was merely curious.”

Elias smiled faintly, For the first time that day, He had found a crack in the facade. Rafael was looking for something, And whatever it was It was connected to that flash drive. He slipped it back into his pocket.

“Sorry.”

“This one stays with me.”

One of the directors immediately stood.

“That belongs to the company!”

Elias looked at him calmly “Does it?”

“Then please show me the inventory record.”

The director instantly fell silent, The flash drive had been purchased with Elias's own money. It had never been registered as company property, Rafael slowly stood.

“Enough.”

“You may leave the building.”

“We don't want this situation to become any worse.”

Elias gave a slight nod “Neither do I.”

He walked toward the exit, Just before reaching the door, he stopped. Without turning around, he spoke quietly.

“My father once told me...”

“…this company wasn't built with money.”

“It was built with trust.”

Then he looked back at Rafael.

“Be careful, Uncle.”

“People who build lies upon trust...”

“rarely fall because of their enemies.”

“They fall because of their own lies.”

Without waiting for a response, Elias opened the door, Instantly, dozens of camera flashes exploded around him.

“Mr. Elias!”

“Over here!”

“Do you admit to embezzling investor funds?”

“Is it true the company lost nearly ninety billion rupiah?”

“Did you abuse your authority?”

Reporters surged forward from every direction, Security officers struggled to clear a path. Microphones were shoved toward his face, Someone was already livestreaming the entire scene.

“Mr. Elias!”

“Please give us a statement!”

A female reporter stepped to the front.

“One question.”

“Do you believe you deserved to inherit this company after betraying your late father's trust?”

His footsteps stopped, He looked at her quietly. Then at the countless cameras pointed toward him, If he answered His words would be edited, If he stayed silent His silence would be treated as a confession.

Today, everything he did would be wrong. Slowly, Elias took a deep breath. Then he walked straight through the crowd without saying a single word, Behind him, the reporters continued shouting.

But to him Their voices became nothing more than distant noise. The moment the building's main doors closed behind him, the overcast sky finally surrendered to the rain. The first raindrop landed in the center of his palm.

Cold, Just as cold as the reality that had stripped away everything he had ever owned, Suddenly His phone vibrated An unknown number.

Don't open the flash drive in front of anyone.

Elias frowned, A second message appeared almost immediately.

If you still want to live... leave now.

He had barely lifted his head when a large shadow stopped behind him.

“Mr. Elias...”

The voice froze his blood, Because it belonged to someone who was supposed to have died that very morning.