The morning headlines hit Olivia's tablet like a blizzard: **THORNE GROUP CEO UNDER INVESTIGATION**, **LEAKS ALLEGE CORPORATE ESPIONAGE**, **MRS. THORNE IMPLICATED IN DATA THEFT**. She stared at the screen, heart pounding, as images of Alexander's tense face flashed alongside doctored charts and faked email exchanges.
She looked up at Alexander, who stood by the penthouse window, storm clouds gathering outside his study. His knuckles whitened as he scrolled through the same story on his phone. Every now and then, a tremor rippled through his hand.
“This is Julian's doing," Olivia said quietly, setting the tablet on the desk. “He's behind the leaks."
Alexander closed his eyes, jaw clenched. “He forged the data to make it look like I sold proprietary research to a competitor." He lifted h
