Episode 5: The Boardroom Trap
290 Words
"Let's cut to the chase," Christian began, his tone deceptively calm. "Yesterday evening, my vehicle was intercepted by an armed hit squad on the lower east highway. They knew my route. The mafia syndicates are pushing hard, and the rot is coming from inside this building. Someone leaked our transport logistics."
A collective murmur of shock ran through the table.
"But what disgusts me more than a few hired thugs," Christian continued, his voice dropping into a dangerous growl as he slammed his smartphone face-up onto the polished wood table, "is the fact that the anonymous digital plague known as Aria Vance just published a brand-new chapter on her w*******l app. Exactly forty-five minutes after the attack occurred."
Cleopatra kept her face entirely expressionless, a flawless mask of professional indifference. Underneath her jacket, however, she felt a small prickle of amusement. The pacing really had been too perfect to pass up.
"Look at this," Christian ordered, tapping the screen aggressively. "The main antagonist in her book—Christopher—gets ambushed. She described the exact defensive maneuver my driver used! She even quoted—word for word—the exact complaint I made about my tablet falling onto the floor! The fans are laughing at me in the comment section!"
"Mr. Vance," one director trembled, "is it possible she has a police scanner?"
"A police scanner doesn't pick up the private conversations inside my vehicle," Christian hissed. "There is a spy in this room. I am giving this board twenty-four hours to find the leak. If 'Aria Vance' posts another chapter detailing our private corporate affairs, I will dissolve this entire board. Dismissed."
The board members couldn't leave fast enough, practically tripping over each other to escape his wrath.
- Writer
