Chapter 5 - The Web Unravels
Madison instinctively lunged toward her designer bag resting on the conference table, but Frank’s large hand came down firmly over the leather strap, pinning it in place.
""Don't touch that,"" Frank rumbled.
""It's mine! That's my personal property! You don't have a warrant!"" Madison shrieked, her voice cracking as panic swallowed her whole. She looked at Grant with wide, pleading eyes. ""Grant, listen to me! Carter tricked me! He told me he loved me! He said if I helped him get the riverfront contract, he would make me a senior partner at Apex! He said Northstar was sinking anyway because you were incompetent!""
Emma let out a low, humorless laugh that cut through Madison’s frantic babbling. ""Incompetent? My husband built this enterprise from a rented garage while you were still in middle school, Madison. But what I find truly fascinating is your psychology. Did you actually think you could sleep your way into power, steal trade secrets, insult strangers in the lobby, and pretend to be the owner’s wife without anyone noticing?""
""I had to!"" Madison sobbed, completely breaking down into theatrical tears. ""Carter threatened me! He said if I didn't get him the numbers, he’d ruin my reputation! I was going to replace the money for dinner! I was going to pay it back from my bonus!""
""You don't have a bonus,"" Grant said, his voice colder than ice. ""You don't have a salary. What you have is an open-and-shut case of corporate espionage, grand larceny, and fraud. Sarah, have the police arrived yet?""
""Two detectives from the financial crimes division are waiting in the reception area right now,"" Sarah replied smoothly.
Madison’s head snapped up. ""The police? No! You can't call the police! That will ruin my life! I have student loans, I have my car lease, I have an apartment in Lincoln Park! If you press charges, I'll go to prison!""
""That tends to happen when you commit felony theft of proprietary assets valued in excess of forty million dollars,"" Emma remarked, adjusting her watch. ""You were very concerned earlier about explaining 'consequences' to me. You told me that explaining consequences saves time. Well, consider this an expedited masterclass.""
Emma turned to Marcus. ""Does Carter Hayes know that the bid data she stole was only the preliminary draft?""
Marcus frowned, then a slow, wicked grin spread across his face. ""Preliminary? Emma, did you review the master file before Grant finalized it?""
""I spent three hours on Sunday night recalibrating the seismic load calculations for that proposal,"" Emma said calmly, tapping her fingers against the table. ""Grant gave me the blueprints because he knows structural architecture has been my specialty for twenty-five years. The pricing models Madison stole were our discarded initial projections—the ones that utilized obsolete supplier contracts that went bankrupt last month.""
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A stunned silence filled the room. Grant turned to his wife, his jaw slightly slack, before an enormous, proud grin broke across his tired face. ""Emma... you didn't.""
""I did,"" Emma replied smoothly. ""Apex Development just submitted an unworkable, legally binding proposal to the city council based on bankrupt suppliers and faulty load dynamics. They didn't win the bid, Grant. They walked straight into a multi-million-dollar trap.""
