Chapter 6 - The Terms of Survival
"Sit down, Daniel," I said, my voice smooth, quiet, and razor-sharp.
Daniel took two stumbling steps forward, his hands trembling as he gripped the edge of the conference table. "Madison... how is this possible?! You were in a motel! You had nothing!"
"I had my mind, Daniel," I replied, leaning back in my chair while Chloe smiled up at me. "The only thing I lacked was an anchor of dead weight dragging me down."
Victoria stepped up beside Daniel, her arrogance returning in a desperate, screeching panic. "Madison! This is completely unprofessional! You can't let personal history interfere with a nine-figure corporate transaction! Sterling Technologies is a major market player!"
I turned my gaze toward Victoria.
"Victoria," I said, my voice dropping to a freezing whisper. "You are an unindicted co-conspirator in a corporate embezzlement scheme. When you took my access badges three years ago, you used my private digital signatures to forge four commercial wire transfers totaling 2.8 million dollars."
Victoria’s knees buckled. She clutched the back of a chair, shaking violently. "That's... that's a lie!"
"The forensic audit was completed forty-eight hours ago by the Securities and Exchange Commission," I said, sliding a red-sealed document across the table. "The Department of Justice is waiting in the lobby downstairs."
Daniel turned toward Victoria, his face flushed with sudden, frantic rage. "You forged company wire transfers under my name?!"
"You told me to keep the firm afloat, Daniel!" Victoria shrieked, weeping openly. "You said whatever it takes!"
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"Enough," I said, tapping my pen on the table.
The room fell into dead, suffocating silence.
