Chapter 5 - The Delivery Window
Cassidy ordered Meridian Tower sealed to executive badge holders until noon.
She did not care how many rumors it created.
The original trust document was more important than appearances.
Without it, Brendan’s forged version could create enough confusion to trigger litigation.
And litigation meant delay.
Delay meant vulnerability.
Especially if something happened during childbirth.
Margaret gathered the four M-level executives in the boardroom.
CFO Owen Price.
Chief Legal Officer Martin Cole.
Chief Operations Officer Helena Shaw.
Chief Strategy Officer Julian Cross.
Cassidy had known all four for years.
Owen had attended her grandmother’s funeral.
Martin had written Cassidy’s first shareholder agreement.
Helena had once flown through a blizzard to help Cassidy rescue a collapsing acquisition.
Julian had worked with Evelyn Hart before Cassidy finished college.
One of them might be M-4.
One of them might be helping Brendan.
Cassidy entered the room without announcing what had been stolen.
She watched their faces.
“Someone accessed restricted archives last night.”
Martin immediately frowned.
“Which archive?”
Owen looked confused.
Helena reached for her tablet.
Julian said nothing.
Cassidy noticed.
Margaret continued.
“We are conducting a credential audit.”
Owen leaned back.
“Is this connected to Brendan?”
“We don’t know.”
Martin shook his head.
“I warned the board about giving him expanded procurement authority.”
Helena looked at Cassidy.
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
Julian finally spoke.
“What was taken?”
Cassidy held his gaze.
“We haven’t determined that.”
A lie.
Julian nodded once.
Too calmly.
After the meeting, Cassidy asked security to follow all four discreetly.
Then Sloane Avery arrived downstairs.
She demanded to speak with Cassidy.
Margaret advised against it.
Cassidy agreed to five minutes.
Sloane entered the private conference room without makeup.
Her expensive confidence was gone.
“I didn’t know who you were.”
Cassidy folded her hands.
“That does not excuse sleeping with my husband.”
“No.”
Sloane swallowed.
“But I didn’t know what he was planning.”
Cassidy said nothing.
Sloane placed a flash drive on the table.
“I copied this from Brendan’s laptop.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
“Why?”
“Because after security removed us, he blamed me.”
Cassidy almost laughed.
That sounded like Brendan.
Sloane continued.
“He said I was supposed to keep you emotional.”
Cassidy’s expression changed.
“What?”
“He encouraged me to post pictures with him.”
“I saw them.”
“He wanted you upset.”
“Why?”
Sloane pushed the drive toward her.
“Because he kept saying emotional instability was easier to prove if there was a pattern.”
Cassidy stared at her.
Every cruel photograph.
Every public dinner.
Every deliberate humiliation.
Brendan had not simply been flaunting an affair.
He had been manufacturing reactions.
Sloane’s voice dropped.
“There’s an audio file.”
Cassidy plugged in the drive.
Brendan’s voice filled the room.
“The delivery window is the cleanest point.”
Another man answered.
Cassidy did not recognize the voice.
Brendan continued.
“She’ll be exhausted, medicated, vulnerable.”
The other man said something too quiet to hear.
Then Brendan laughed.
“Once the temporary order is signed, the baby gives me standing.”
Cassidy froze.
Sloane looked sick.
The recording continued.
Then the unknown man spoke clearly.
“You still need the original trust seal.”
Cassidy looked at Margaret.
The voice was familiar.
Very familiar.
But before either woman could identify it, the recording ended with a door opening.
A third voice spoke from the background.
May you like
Cassidy recognized that one immediately.
It belonged to someone who had been sitting in her boardroom less than an hour earlier.
