The boardroom of Carter Industries was a storm of whispered conversations and rustling papers when Ava and Liam arrived the next morning. The atmosphere was electric, charged with the kind of tension that preceded a battle. Ava kept her expression neutral, her fingers laced together in her lap as she took her seat beside Liam. The anonymous tip had worked—too well.
Richard sat at the head of the table, his posture rigid, his gaze sharp as it flicked between the board members. His usual confidence seemed to waver, a crack in the armor Ava had never seen before. The merger documents were spread across the table, the incriminating clause circled in red.
Liam’s voice was calm, but his grip on Ava’s hand beneath the table was iron. “This is going to get ugly.”
Ava’s voice was barely above a
