It started with a leak. Not from Carter Holdings. Not from Elena’s office. Not even from the board. It came from somewhere smaller—an internal compliance document that was never meant to leave restricted circulation. But in the age of data, nothing stayed buried for long and once it surfaced, everything changed.
By morning, Adrian’s phone hadn’t stopped vibrating. He ignored the first ten calls. Then the next ten, but when Marcus walked into his office without knocking, face unusually tense, Adrian finally looked up.
“What now?”
Marcus didn’t sit and that alone made Adrian straighten slightly.
“There’s been a release,” Marcus said.
Adrian exhaled slowly. “I don’t care about another analyst report.”
“This isn’t an analyst report.”
A pause. Then Marcus placed his tablet on the desk.
