CHAPTER SEVEN
1073 Words
The message didn’t leave Emily’s mind.
Even as the elevator doors slid shut and began their descent, her eyes remained fixed on her phone screen.
If you want to know who helped Gael betray you… meet me tonight…
There was no name,no number she could recognize.
It was just a hook.
Daniel watched her carefully from beside her.
“You’re unusually quiet,” he said.
Emily didn’t look up immediately.
Then she locked her phone and exhaled slowly.
“Someone just invited me to a meeting tonight.”
Daniel’s brows pulled together.
“What kind of meeting?”
Emily turned to him.
“The kind that could either solve everything… or make things worse.”
The elevator doors opened into the lobby.
They stepped out together, the noise of the building rushing back in around them, but Emily felt strangely detached from it all.
Daniel didn’t stop walking.
“Start from the beginning.”
Emily walked beside him, her pace steady.
“It was just an unknown number and one message that says they know who helped Gael.”
Daniel stopped completely.
Emily didn’t notice Daniel had stopped until she had taken two steps and turned back.
“That’s not something you ignore,” he said.
“I’m not ignoring it.”
“You’re thinking of going?”
Emily held his gaze.
“Yes.”
Daniel let out a breath, clearly frustrated.
“Emily, that could be anyone or a trap. It might be someone trying to bait you. Or worse, someone working for Gael.”
Emily’s expression didn’t change.
“I’ve already considered that.”
“And?”
“And I’m still going.” she said confidently.
Daniel ran a hand through his hair.
“This is exactly the kind of risk you shouldn’t be taking right now Em.”
Emily’s hand instinctively moved to her abdomen for a brief second before dropping again.
“I don’t have the luxury of playing safe,”
she said quietly.
“Not anymore.”
Daniel looked at her for a moment, then his tone changed.
“Then you don’t go alone.”
Emily hesitated.
“That might scare them off.”
“Or it might keep you from walking into something dangerous.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then Emily shook her head slightly.
“No. If this person went through the trouble of reaching out like this, they want control of the situation. If they see you, they might disappear.”
Daniel didn’t like it.
That much was obvious.
But he also knew her well enough.
When Emily decides something… she will surely follow through it.
“Fine,” he said finally. “Then we prepare.”
Emily nodded once.
“Good.”
They moved again, heading toward Daniel’s office.
The moment they stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted.
What had been panic earlier was now something else.
Focus.
Daniel dropped the folder on the table.
“Before tonight, we deal with what we can control.”
Emily set her bag down and walked toward the large glass board mounted on the wall.
“ Which is the board vote?”
Daniel nodded.
“Exactly.”
He picked up a marker and began writing names.
“Whitmore is leaning toward Gael.”
“Obviously,” Emily replied.
“Chen is undecided. Patel too. The rest are following whoever they think will stabilize the company fastest.”
Emily crossed her arms, watching the names fill the board.
“They’re not loyal,” she said.
“They’re scared.”
Daniel pointed the marker at her.
“Exactly. Which means fear is what’s driving their decision.”
Emily’s eyes sharpened slightly.
“Then we change what they’re afraid of.”
Daniel paused for a while then a slow smile appeared.
“Now that sounds like you.”
Emily stepped closer to the board.
“If they believe Gael is the safer choice, they’ll vote for him.”
She reached for the marker and circled two names.
“But if they start to believe he’s a risk…”
Daniel finished the thought.
“They hesitate.”
Emily nodded.
“And hesitation buys us time.”
Daniel leaned against the table.
“So how do we make them doubt him without showing our hand?”
Emily didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she flipped open the folder Daniel had brought from the courthouse.
Her eyes scanned the documents quickly, then she stopped on one page.
A transaction report.
Subtle. Easy to miss.
But not to her.
“Here,” she said, sliding it toward him.
Daniel looked down.
At first, nothing stood out.
But after a while, his expression changed.
“This transfer…”
Emily nodded.
“It doesn’t match the timeline Gael presented in court.”
Daniel straightened.
“If we point this out—”
“We don’t,” Emily interrupted calmly.
He frowned.
“We don’t?”
“No. Not directly.”
She tapped the paper lightly.
“We suggest there are inconsistencies. Just enough to make them question him.”
Daniel studied her.
“You’re playing long.”
“No,I’m just playing smart.”
Then Daniel nodded slowly.
“Alright. So let's reach out to Chen and Patel first. Quietly.”
Emily agreed.
“No emails. No paper trail. Just conversations.”
Daniel checked his watch.
“We don’t have much time before the vote.”
Emily placed the file back down.
“Then we use what we have.”
Her phone buzzed again.
Both of them looked at it this time.
A second message from the same number.
8 PM. Don’t be late.
No location yet.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“I really don’t like this.”
Emily picked up the phone.
“Neither do I.”
“Then don’t go.”
Emily slipped the phone into her bag.
“I don’t walk away from answers.”
Daniel looked at her, searching her face.
“You’re walking into the unknown.”
Emily met his gaze, calm but unyielding.
“No,” she said.
“I’m walking toward the truth.”
The room fell quiet.
Outside, the sun had begun to dip, casting long shadows across the city.
Time was moving fast.
The board vote was coming.
The meeting tonight was waiting.
And somewhere in all of it—
Was the person who helped destroy her life.
Emily turned back to the board, her expression hardening.
“Let’s begin,” she said.
“Before Gael realizes the game isn’t over.”
- Writer
