The day of the board meeting, she walked beside Evan, hands trembling. He simply matched her pace. When they entered the conference room and Damien’s eyes widened in stunned recognition, Elena exhaled, the kind of exhale that came from dragging a buried truth into the light.
Damien recovered quickly, wearing his polished arrogance like armor. But when Evan slid the evidence packet across the table and invited Elena to speak, the armor cracked. Calmly, she detailed the stolen IP, the forged signatures, the whispers he’d fed the media. Evan canceled the deal on record.