Chapter 16 - Betrayal from Within
The sting operation was a massive success—or so they thought. The recording of Arthur Vance admitting to bribery and systemic corruption was delivered to the federal authorities. However, the wheel of justice moved slowly, and Arthur’s high-priced lawyers managed to secure him bail within hours of his arrest.
Worse news arrived the following morning. Claire’s boss at the architectural firm called her into his office. He looked pale and refused to meet her eyes.
"Claire, I’m going to have to ask for your resignation," he said bluntly.
Claire was stunned. "What? Why? I just helped expose a major criminal operation that protects the integrity of our entire industry!"
The boss sighed, throwing a folder onto the desk. "An internal audit was triggered this morning. Someone inside our firm leaked proprietary design secrets to a competitor, and the digital signature used to access those files belongs to your computer account. The board believes you were bribed by Vance’s associates before you turned on him. It looks like a double-cross, Claire."
Claire walked out of the building in a daze. Arthur had anticipated their move. Even from behind the scenes, using his vast network of corrupt allies, he had planted fabricated evidence within her own company to ruin her career completely.
When she arrived home, she found Ethan waiting for her. He had already heard the news through the business grapevine. Instead of finding a broken woman, he found a wife whose eyes were blazing with determination.
"Someone inside your firm is on Arthur’s payroll," Ethan said, pulling her into a tight embrace. "We need to find out who accessed your computer."
"I know exactly who it was," Claire said, her voice sharp. "Marcus. My junior associate. He was the only one who had access to my encryption keys when I was in the hospital last year. He always resented that I came back and took the senior position."
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They spent the next forty-eight hours tracking Marcus’s financial movements. With Sarah’s legal authority, they discovered a sudden, massive influx of cash into Marcus’s offshore account, originating from a subsidiary of Vance Enterprises.
The drama was no longer just a corporate battle; it was a race against time. Arthur was trying to destroy Claire’s reputation so completely that her court testimony would be thrown out on appeal, allowing him to escape all criminal charges.
