Chapter 3 - The Trap ClosesBy Thursday, the office tension had mutated into full-scale paranoia. Ethan had barely spoken two words to Maya, communicating strictly through digital project boards. Every time their paths crossed in the hallway, the distance between them felt manufactured, agonizingly enforced by Ethan himself. He was keeping her at arm's length to protect her, believing Victoria's spies were watching every move he made.
Maya knew she had to act. She spent late Wednesday night copying the corrupted financial files onto an encrypted flash drive. If Victoria was embezzling from the charity trust—the very foundation upon which Caldwell & Finch built its elite reputation—the firm would implode. And Ethan, as the primary face and majority name partner, would take the fall.
At 9:00 PM, the office was dark except for the glow of computer monitors. Maya walked down the empty corridor toward Ethan’s office, intending to slide the drive onto his desk with an anonymous note.
Instead, she found the door cracked open.
Inside, Ethan wasn't alone. Victoria Finch sat across from him, her posture rigid, her voice carrying clearly through the gap in the door.
"You are throwing away generations of work for a secretary?" Victoria hissed, slamming a folder onto Ethan’s mahogany desk. "The board is already auditing the Q3 trust. If they trace those irregularities, the SEC won't just look at the firm—they'll look at your father's legacy. And guess who signed off on the initial shell corporation transfer twenty years ago?"
Ethan’s voice was dangerously low, dripping with cold fury. "Don't bring my father into this, Victoria. You used his signature as collateral while he was dying in the hospital. You thought you could bleed the charity dry and pin it on the new management structure."
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"I am Caldwell & Finch!" Victoria slammed her hand on the desk. "And if you try to hand those files to the auditors tomorrow, I will ensure Maya Bennett’s name is listed as the primary accessory to corporate fraud. Her bank accounts can be manipulated very easily, Ethan. Do you want to watch her go to prison?"
Outside in the hall, Maya’s breath caught in her throat. The world tilted sideways.
