Chapter 9
I met Daniel at the Veridian Tech headquarters.
The deal was supposed to close in an hour.
He looked relieved when he saw me.
“Claire. I’ve been worried sick about you.”
“I know. And I’m sorry I left. But I had to think. And I had to see something for myself.”
I showed him the picture I’d taken of Robert Vance and Victoria.
His eyes went wide.
“Vance? He’s been working with them?”
“From the beginning, I think. He had access to your email. He knew the acquisition strategy. He could have leaked everything to the Sterlings.”
Daniel ran a hand through his hair.
“That explains so much. How the fake emails were so convincing. How the Sterlings always seemed to be one step ahead.”
He looked at me.
“Claire, about that picture Victoria sent you… it was a setup. She really did ambush me. I pushed her away. I swear.”
I looked into his eyes.
And I knew.
He was telling the truth.
“I believe you.”
Relief washed over his face.
He pulled me into a hug.
“I love you so much. I’m never going to let anyone come between us again.”
“I love you too.”
We pulled apart.
“We have to tell my father. Before the deal closes.”
“He already knows. I called him last night.”
Daniel checked his watch.
“We have forty minutes. Let’s get inside.”
The Veridian Tech boardroom was tense.
The Veridian executives sat on one side.
My father’s team sat on the other.
Robert Vance was there, looking calm and confident.
He had no idea we knew.
Daniel and I sat next to my father.
I leaned over and whispered.
“Vance is here.”
My father nodded slightly.
“I know. I’ve already spoken to the Veridian CEO. Off the record. He’s agreed to delay the closing by an hour. We need proof.”
“Proof? We have the picture of him with Victoria.”
“Not enough. We need to catch him in the act.”
My father’s security chief leaned forward.
“We’ve been monitoring his communications since you called this morning. He’s been texting someone. We think it’s William Sterling. He’s supposed to send the final bid details ten minutes before the closing.”
“So we wait.”
“We wait.”
The next fifty minutes were the longest of my life.
Vance made small talk with the other executives.
He smiled.
He laughed.
He acted like he wasn’t about to betray the company that employed him.
At ten minutes before the new closing time, Vance pulled out his phone under the table.
He typed quickly.
Then he hit send.
My father’s security chief nodded.
“We got it. The message went to William Sterling’s private number. It contains the final bid details and our negotiation strategy.”
My father stood up.
The room went quiet.
“Before we proceed with the closing, I have something to address.”
He looked at Robert Vance.
“Robert, would you like to tell everyone what you just did?”
Vance’s face went pale.
“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about, Charles.”
“Really? Because my security team just intercepted a text message from your phone to William Sterling. Containing confidential information about this acquisition.”
The Veridian executives murmured.
Vance stood up.
“This is outrageous. You have no proof.”
My father’s security chief held up a tablet.
On the screen was the text message.
Sent from Vance’s number.
To William Sterling.
Vance’s face went from pale to red.
“You were spying on me?”
“You were betraying this company. And your colleagues.”
My father’s voice was cold.
“Security, please escort Mr. Vance out. The police are waiting downstairs.”
Two security guards walked in.
Vance tried to protest, but it was useless.
They led him out.
The room was silent for a moment.
Then the Veridian CEO stood up.
“Well. That was unexpected. But I appreciate your transparency, Charles. It says a lot about your company’s integrity.”
He looked at Daniel.
“And it says a lot about Mr. Carter’s character that he was willing to stand up and do the right thing, even when his own reputation was on the line.”
He extended his hand.
“Shall we proceed with the closing?”
My father smiled.
“We shall.”
The next hour was a blur of signatures and handshakes.
The deal was done.
The acquisition was ours.
The Sterlings had lost.
When we walked out of the building, reporters were waiting.
My father made a brief statement.
Then we got in the car.
Daniel let out a long breath.
“It’s over.”
“For now.”
My father looked at me.
“The Sterlings won’t go down without a fight. We need to be prepared for whatever they do next.”
But I wasn’t thinking about the Sterlings.
I was thinking about Daniel.
And Margaret.
And everything we’d been through.
We went back to the penthouse.
Margaret and Richard were waiting.
They’d heard the news.
Margaret walked straight to me.
And for the first time, she hugged me.
It was awkward.
It was stiff.
But it was real.
“I’m proud of you, Claire.”
She pulled back.
“Both of you.”
Daniel smiled.
“Thanks, Mom.”
That night, we had dinner together.
My father.
Daniel and me.
Margaret and Richard.
It was the first time we’d all sat down together without tension.
Without insults.
Without secrets.
Margaret raised her glass.
“To family. The one we’re born into. And the one we choose.”
We clinked glasses.
For the first time in a long time, I felt like I belonged.
But the feeling was short-lived.
As we were finishing dinner, my father’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face went serious.
“When?… Are you sure?… Alright. We’ll be right there.”
He hung up.
“What is it, Dad?”
He looked at me.
“It’s Victoria. She’s been in an accident. A car crash. She’s in the hospital. They don’t think she’s going to make it.”
May you like
The room went silent.
Margaret’s glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
