The days that followed felt like a cautious reprieve. Emma and Alexander took comfort in the quiet, even as they remained vigilant. The fallout from Claudia’s desperate schemes had been contained, and with the board firmly on their side, the company’s reputation was steadily recovering.
But both knew that Claudia’s parting words—"This isn’t over"—weren’t idle threats.
---
One crisp morning, Emma woke to the soft vibration of her phone. It was a message from an unknown number:
"Did you think it would be this easy? Check your email. Time’s ticking."
Her heart sank as she quickly logged into her email. What she saw made her blood run cold.
There, attached to the email, was a folder containing surveillance footage. The clips were heavily edited but incriminating. They showed moments wher
