Chapter 6 - Betrayal in the Boardroom
“You really should have taken that severance package when you were just a low-level analyst, Emily,” Julian Vance said smoothly, stepping into the office with calm, predatory steps. “Adrian’s father had a sentimental streak that ruined him. It seems Adrian inherited the same flaw when it comes to picking his playthings.”
Emily rose to her feet, discreetly slipping the black USB token into the tight cuff of her blazer sleeve. She kept her chin high, projecting every ounce of defiance she possessed.
“Mr. Vance,” she said evenly. “I’m just packing the rest of my personal effects as instructed by Mr. Cole.”
“Is that so?” Julian gestured to the two security guards. “Search her. Take her phone, her tablet, and whatever she just pulled out of that safe.”
Before the guards could take two steps toward her, the side door clicked open.
Daniel Ross stepped into the room, holding an official corporate memo stamped with Northstar’s legal seal. “Mr. Vance, the board is waiting. The independent audit committee has arrived early from Geneva, and they insist on beginning the review immediately.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed. “Where is Adrian?”
“He’s already in the boardroom, sir,” Daniel replied smoothly, avoiding eye contact with Emily. “He stated that if you aren't seated within two minutes, he will present the Valmont merger amendments without your signature.”
Julian sneered, glancing dismissively at Emily. “Keep her locked in this room until the vote concludes,” he ordered the guards. “Confiscate her devices. If she tries to leave, call the police and charge her with corporate espionage.”
Julian turned on his heel and strode out, followed by Daniel, who threw Emily a brief, barely perceptible nod.
The heavy mahogany doors clicked shut, leaving Emily trapped inside the office with two burly private security contractors standing between her and the hallway.
Emily glanced at the diamond-faced clock on Adrian’s wall. It was 9:38 AM. In the main boardroom three floors down, Adrian was walking into an ambush with an incomplete defense. Without the Swiss decryption key, the digital logs Julian had planted would make Adrian look like the mastermind behind the missing millions.
She looked at the two guards. They were broad-shouldered, professional, and completely indifferent.
“Gentlemen,” Emily said, adopting the most innocent, panicked cadence she could muster. “I don't think you understand. Mr. Vance hasn't paid your firm’s retainer from a valid account. The checks you received this morning were drawn from a domestic shell entity currently being flagged by the Department of Justice.”
The younger guard frowned, glancing at his partner. “Nice try, lady. Sit on the sofa.”
Emily walked slowly toward the sofa, her heels clicking on the hardwood. As she passed the polished marble credenza, her eyes caught the heavy brass art deco paperweight Adrian kept near his files.
She feigned a sudden stumble, grasping the corner of the credenza. “I... I think I’m having an asthma attack. My inhaler is in my purse on the desk.”
The older guard sighed with annoyance. “Stay right there. I’ll get it.”
The moment he turned his back and reached for her tote bag, Emily seized the brass paperweight. With ruthless speed, she struck the emergency fire-alarm release box mounted beneath the side console.
A deafening, ear-piercing siren immediately filled the room. Strobe lights flashed white against the walls, and the overhead suppression warning began counting down in an automated robotic voice.
The security doors automatically disengaged to comply with city building safety protocols.
“Hey! Stop her!”
Emily didn't hesitate. She threw the heavy paperweight through the glass credenza, creating an explosion of shattered glass that forced the guards to flinch, and bolted through the disengaged side doors into the fire stairs.
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Her lungs burned as she took the stairs three at a time, sprinting down toward the thirty-fourth floor. Security alarms blared through the building, chaos erupting across the halls as hundreds of employees streamed toward the emergency exits.
In the midst of the panic, Emily pushed through the heavy doors of the thirty-fourth-floor lobby, heading straight for the executive boardroom.
