Chapter 16 - Betrayal within the Inner Circle
Despite the explosive court hearing, the judge granted temporary emergency custody to Joanna, pending a full criminal review of the evidence submitted. However, the victory was short-lived.
Three days later, Sarah Vance called Joanna for an emergency meeting at a secure location away from her law firm.
When Joanna arrived at the quiet diner outside Richmond, Sarah looked pale and visibly shaken.
"What happened, Sarah?" Joanna asked, sliding into the booth.
"We have a breach," Sarah whispered, leaning across the table. "Someone inside my firm leaked our evidence summary to Derek’s legal team before we could submit the full forensic drive to the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
Joanna’s heart sank. "How? Who?"
"My senior associate, Thomas," Sarah said, her voice trembling with anger and guilt. "He’s been working with Sterling's firm behind my back. They offered him a partnership and a substantial wire transfer to an off-shore account in Grand Cayman. Thomas cleared out the physical files from my safe last night and wiped our local server backup."
"The drive..." Joanna whispered, horror washing over her. "Did they take the actual USB drive?"
"No," Sarah said, taking Joanna’s hand tightly. "Thank God, Marcus kept the original physical drive in his personal safe at an undisclosed location. But Derek and Meredith now know exactly what we have on them. They know about the Claire Higgins files. They know about the money laundering."
"Which means they have nothing left to lose," Joanna realized, the terrifying truth dawning on her.
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"Desperate people do desperate things, Joanna," Sarah warned. "Derek knows that if that drive reaches the US Attorney’s office on Monday, he and his mother are going to federal prison for the rest of their lives. They are cornered animals."
Joanna stood up, her instincts screaming. "I need to get back to my house. My mother and the girls are alone."
