Melinda’s POV
It started with a skipped client meeting.
Then a missed wire transfer.
Then three calls from board members who never used to call.
By the time I stepped into my office that afternoon, I already knew something was wrong. The air was different — thinner. The kind of quiet that clings to you just before a fire alarm goes off.
Carrie met me at the door with a face that said everything.
“You’re going to want to sit,” she whispered.
I didn’t.
I walked straight to my desk and opened the laptop. Ten new emails. Subject lines that didn’t make sense:
URGENT: Project halt requested – Evoke Phase Two
Internal audit: Request for files under review
Board action pending – Noncompliance clause triggered?
“What the hell is this?” I asked, eyes darting.
Carrie looked pale. “There
