Chapter 3: The Unraveling
By morning, the news had already broken.
“Vale Industries Under Federal Investigation.”
“Major Investor Pullouts Overnight.”
“Insider Trading Allegations Surface.”
Adrian watched the television like a man watching his own execution.
“This is fabricated,” he muttered. “It has to be.”
But the calls kept coming.
Lawyers.
Partners.
Board members.
All saying the same thing in different words:
We’re out.
Vanessa tried to leave.
Security stopped her at the gate.
“Ma’am, your name has been flagged. You cannot access any of the properties.”
She turned back toward me, eyes wide with terror.
“You did this,” she said.
“No,” I replied calmly.
“You both did.”
Adrian slammed his fist against the wall. “You think you’ve won? This isn’t over!”
May you like
I tilted my head slightly.
“It is,” I said. “You just don’t understand it yet.”
