Chapter 3 - The Shadow in the CEO’s Office
Three hours later,
the doctors announced that Suzanne had been stabilized,
though her organs had suffered significant damage.
Justin took this as his cue to enter the room and continue his role as the grieving son.
I didn't follow him;
instead,
I went back to the office under the cover of darkness.
I used my master key to enter the executive suite,
the air smelling of expensive leather and betrayal.
I went straight to Justin’s desk and began the methodical process of searching his digital footprint.
For years,
I had built the logistics of this company;
I knew exactly where the shadows were hidden.
I bypassed his primary passwords using the administrative overrides I had secretly installed months ago.
What I found was a digital trail of breadcrumbs leading straight to a nightmare.
There were emails to a private investigator,
asking for detailed reports on my daily movements and medical visits.
He knew I was pregnant.
He had known for three weeks,
thanks to a compromised file from my OB-GYN’s office.
There were also offshore account transfers to a woman named Alyssa Sutton.
It wasn't just a secretarial salary;
it was a payoff.
Alyssa hadn't just been his secretary;
she had been his accomplice and his mistress.
They had planned to frame me for Suzanne’s "accidental" illness to gain total control of my shares.
But the plan had shifted when Justin realized the pregnancy would complicate the divorce.
He decided that a dead wife was much more profitable than an incarcerated one.
I found a deleted file in his trash bin titled “Anniversary Plans.”
It wasn't a list of gifts or dinner reservations.
It was a logistical timeline for the delivery of the soup,
timed to arrive when he knew Suzanne would be in my office.
He didn't just try to kill me;
he used his own mother as a pawn to ensure the soup was consumed.
He calculated that if I didn't eat it,
Suzanne’s forced consumption would still lead to a scandal that would ruin my career.
He just didn't expect the toxin to be so potent that it would nearly kill her on the spot.
I felt a cold,
hard resolve settle over my heart,
replacing the fear with a sharp,
surgical anger.
I downloaded every file,
every email,
and every financial record onto an encrypted drive.
Then,
I went to the IT server room and restored my emergency authorization access.
With a few keystrokes,
I locked Justin out of the company’s operating accounts.
The CEO was now officially blind and broke,
and he didn't even know it yet.
As I walked out of the building,
I saw Alyssa’s car parked in the shadows of the parking garage.
She was sitting inside,
applying lipstick and smiling at her reflection in the rearview mirror.
May you like
She thought she was about to become the new queen of Vanguard Logistics.
She had no idea that the Director of Operations had just canceled her delivery.
