Chapter 23
The executive boardroom of Emily’s corporate headquarters was bathed in brilliant, natural sunlight, a stark contrast to the shadowy plots forming against her. Emily sat at the head of the massive glass table, radiating absolute, regal authority. Arthur Penhaligon and Silas stood before her, projecting high-resolution financial charts onto the smart glass wall. "We are detecting a massive, coordinated short-sell attack on our primary stock," Arthur reported, his crisp American accent laced with concern. "Someone is attempting to artificially tank the valuation just before the defense contract acquisition." Emily’s piercing eyes studied the data. "It's Sterling Vance," she stated with cold, terrifying certainty. "He is the only one with the capital to orchestrate an attack of this magnitude." Silas crossed his arms, his dark, tailored suit stretching over his broad shoulders. "Vance couldn't execute this without insider knowledge of our vulnerability windows. We ran a trace on a recent server ping. It originated from a burner phone traced back to Jessica Carter's motel." The room went dead silent. Emily stood up slowly, her beautiful, classic movie-star features twisting into a mask of pure, unforgiving ice. "Jessica," Emily whispered, the name tasting like ash. "She lost her home, her wealth, and her son, and she still hasn't learned her lesson. Silas, prepare the cyber division. We are not just going to block Vance's attack. We are going to obliterate him."
