Chapter 12 - THE FALL OF THE TRAITOR
Alexander leaned over the tablet,
scrolling through the lines of hard,
undeniable digital evidence.
A dark,
predatory smile touched the corner of his mouth.
“Brilliant,
” he murmured,
looking up at me with profound respect in his gray eyes.
“I knew I hired the right person for more reasons than one.
”
Ten minutes later,
corporate security descended upon the third-floor open-plan office.
Marcus was intercepted at his desk before he could delete his local cache files.
Two burly security guards escorted him through the tenth-floor executive lobby.
His face was pale with absolute terror as he caught sight of me standing outside my office door.
“You framed me!
” Marcus shouted hysterically as the guards shoved him toward the elevators.
“Shut your mouth,
Mr.
Vance,
” Alexander's voice rang out across the floor like a cracking whip,
freezing everyone in their tracks.
“Your IP address,
your access key,
and your personal data transfer logs are currently being forwarded to the FBI's cybercrimes division.
If you say another word,
I will personally ensure you never work in finance again.
”
Marcus collapsed into silence,
hurried into the elevator by security.
A collective sigh of relief rippled through the tenth floor.
My colleagues,
who had eyed me with suspicion earlier that morning,
now looked at me with newfound awe and caution.
I had proven my worth not just as an analyst,
but as a survivor.
As the elevator doors closed on Marcus,
Alexander stepped out of his office and walked toward me.
“Impressive work,
Eve,
” he said quietly,
stopping right in front of me.
“You dismantled an industrial espionage plot in under twenty minutes.
”
“I just wanted to clear my name,
” I replied,
looking up into his compelling eyes.
“You did much more than that,
” Alexander murmured,
his voice softening.
“You proved that you are entirely indispensable to Sterling Capital—and to me.
”
Before I could process the weight of his words,
May you like
he turned and walked back into his office,
leaving me standing in the corridor with my heart racing wildly.
